


Disjointed: Before the Sequel

by Seraph_Years, Silver Blue (Seraph_Years)



Series: Disjointed [2]
Category: Original Work, Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Bridges the gap between mature and explicit, Dimension Travel, Gen, Inspired by Devil May Cry, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Over the Top, Profanity, Sexual References, Tags Contain Spoilers, Tags May Change, almost a crack fic, bizarre
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-10-18
Packaged: 2021-03-07 05:20:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 33
Words: 31,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26467861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seraph_Years/pseuds/Seraph_Years, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seraph_Years/pseuds/Silver%20Blue
Summary: Welcome to a world of creators.The Pantheon is where they place themselves.The Guilds are where they work.Authors choose the Writers' Guild.Artists choose the Artists' Guild.One of the mammals trying to be involved chooses to escape responsibility. But it comes at a cost, and soon he is forced to face what he left behind...
Series: Disjointed [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1914574
Comments: 1
Kudos: 1





	1. Prelude: Our World

In 2016, a man made a world that he called a labor of love. He called it a sanctuary for those interested in its contents.

A world of animals with human-like characteristics, he said.

Thus, over the years, a pantheon was christened - that of those who would gladly create new things surrounding this divine haven. Stories encompassing the city's existence, whether they be tame or risque, delightful or shameless, childlike or mature.

Depending on how well these chosen ones got along with their fellow man, depending on how well their tales have been told, depending on how well they fit in within their side of said pantheon - they have a chosen rank. From Lesser, to Intermediate, to Greater, to Legendary, the ranks have a hand in determining who's who in the pantheon, and the strongest usually have their plans, stories, and details laid out right in front of them before they begin laying the groundwork for their new journey. New worlds have been created from these projects, and as a result, travelers from all walks of life have taken up the path of planeswalking to investigate these side stories.

From these, two parts of the pantheon were born. The Artists' Guild and the Writers' Guild. The former had a harder but faster way of elevating up the spiral of the ranking system. The latter had an easier but slower way of making it up there, and that's only because the stories have no place of their own to go to.  
They say that those in the Writers' Guild have their own stories to tell, and that is true. But it is up to the Artists' Guild to turn it visual, and not only does that give them greater power, it also benefits the original author as well.   
However, some see both Guilds as methods of getting attention in their own special way, caring about neither how they treat their characters nor how anyone else sees their work. Those that turn a blind eye get berated by these types of creators and, in the heat of the controversy, these makers get tossed to the wayside and are otherwise never heard from again.

Those in the Artist's Guild are often the strongest of their kind, and some have joined not to make a picture worth a thousand words, but to request or pay these kind souls somewhere from a pittance to a fortune to get a picture worth ten thousand words. From there, they elevate themselves up to their position, being seen as legends among men. The only thing stronger than most of the Guild is the Creator himself...

One thing is to be certain, however.

Nobody under 18 has made it past Intermediate.

That brings us to a new entry in the pantheon, Winston by name, who found this out the hard way. One digit below the limit means he has tried his absolute hardest to make it past his rank of intermediate, and I have been watching him with earnest interest. However, someone higher than him has taught him a valuable lesson - to even make it to where half the Writers' Guild and the entire Artists' Guild is, he first must complete what has been given to him as a method of stepping up to the home plate - that is, become a successful adult. From there, he was sent out of the place he called home, and into another place wrought with danger and unspeakable horror. This was called Hollow, and it was devastated by enemies made of gears called Errors. The lesser entities were named after important words - like "truancy" and "truthiness" while the stronger monsters were named after hurricanes, like "Martha" and "Ike" and "Sandy". Thankfully, Winston had been missing from Hollow for days trying to pursue a career in the Writers' Guild (he was already in it, but he wasn't really getting as far as some of the others). His former allies persuaded him to stay in the world of the young adult and fend off the Errors until Hollow was free of persecution and Winston could safely travel between the sanctuary and this horrible place.

But he wasn't going to war unarmed. 

One of his allies, Libra, gave him a Japanese sword he's been keeping in the weapons bay for the time Winston's been away. No weapon is breakable in Hollow, so Winston can use it for however long he likes.

[Libra] "Everything else will come to you later. Do you remember the kinds of skills you packed before you told us you were leaving this place for the sanctuary?"  
[Winston] "I'm sure I'll grow into my arsenal. But for now, I'll rely on this." 


	2. Taurus (ex) Machina

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Winston's first mission. Here, he begins to show off his skills, but he doesn't go too hard on his enemy since it's his first enemy in a while.

The time has come for Winston to embark on his first mission in a while. His goal was to take down an Error whose parts are forged to resemble a bull.

[Winston] "Really? a bull? I know for d--- sure that I've seen this thing before."  
[Libra] "You have? Where?"  
[Winston] "I believe this Greek god named Poseidon had a son--"  
[Scorpio] "And that's where the comparisons stop because that thing is loaded with more bells and whistles than a swiss army knife."

The gunslinger cat's right; the mechanical bovine has a lot of gadgets underneath that armor. When the two heroes (Libra and Winston) confront it outside Aeon (their base), the first thing it does is charge towards Libra. Winston holds it back with only his hands.  
[Libra] "See, this is why I hired you."  
[Winston] "See, this is why I went to the sanctuary! A place so godd--- sacred that you won't tell me the name of it!"  
[Libra] "Casual danger conversation in the middle of a heated mission? Why that's so bada--"  
[Winston] "You STARTED it, Libra!"

Winston kicks the bull upwards and immediately grabs it, suplexes it to the ground, and makes a safe landing. The bull then gets back up and unloads a chainsaw.  
[Winston] "Honestly I've seen worse coming from the sanctuary."  
Winston BLOCKS the chainsaw with ONE HAND, not even moving, and rips it off the side of the bull. Libra is dumbfounded. Winston then cuts its head off with the running blade. He then signals Libra.  
[Winston] "Think fast!"  
He kicks the head to him, and Libra cuts it in two with the Tracker Blade.  
[Winston] "Don't think this is the end, cause this story has a Chapter 2!"  
Indeed, the bull gets back up and is about to charge up an attack from its body...   
But Winston just summons an assault rifle from thin air and fires upon the metal monster, blowing it up. Winston, unmoving from the blast, catches one of its stray gears and tosses it to Scorpio (who was sitting there watching the fight from his cubicle the whole time). He catches it and examines it for inspection.  
[Winston] "If it was about to pull out some of that weak s---, I just gave it a wake-up call. No beef, but plenty of strife."  
[Libra] "At least your moves are better than those lines."  
[Winston] "Comedy takes time to improve."  
Aeon is not even a stone's throw away, so the heroes return to their working environment.  
[Scorpio] "Not bad for your first mission, huh? These gears that you've--"  
[Winston] "Look, I know the drill. Bring you the scrap metal, you turn it into a weapon I can use in battle. I get the picture. I'm just waiting for my good ol' bread and butter to return to me; my Image Cards."  
[Libra] "I'm more worried about how you managed to bring a gun out of nowhere."  
[Winston] "That came naturally. What *shade* of naturally is something that is neither here nor there. You can't explain everything."

That bull was just the start of the adventure. For 6 months, give or take, he will be moving back and forth between here and the Sanctuary. How he does it is something that will come by in the next partition.


	3. In a Quick Flash of Light

After that mission, Winston went inside a room behind all the cubicles. It was a hallway with several doors and a left turn. Winston makes that left turn and comes across a door that has to be opened via a very noisy manhole cover (think the Vaults from Fallout). He opens that cover, and because it's late at night where everyone's fast asleep, he does not alert any of his crewmates. Once he opens the door, he walks inside and sees a glitchy portal inside of a mirror. The crewmates have been hiding this door because it leads to Sanctuary; the very area that Winston came back from. None of them wanted him to go back to Sanctuary because he needed to stay back and fight the Errors. Curiosity nearly killed this cat, for a hand grabbed his arm and dragged him inside once he put his hand in the portal, in expectation for the portal to react to his hand touching it.

Inside was 2 observations; a room littered with flowers and other girly things, and Rebecca, its owner (a butterfly/lynx hybrid with a childlike voice.)

[Winston] "Huh, if I knew someone of that strength matched that appearance, I would have armed myself!"  
[Rebecca] "You are massively overstepping your boundary."  
[Winston] "Is this Sanctuary?"  
[Rebecca] "We threw away that term quite some time ago. We call this place Zootopia."  
[Winston] "...You mean, "Judy Hopps" Zootopia?"  
[Rebecca] "Right on."

Rebecca swipes her hand horizontally towards Winston, expecting him to be knocked back into the portal. Winston evades that attack and swipes his sword out in front of him. Rebecca blocks the blade with only her hands.  
[Rebecca] "We're supposed to keep you out of here until you're of age."  
[Winston] "If you wanted to keep me out of here, then why did you drag me in here?!"  
[Rebecca] "To teach underage trespassers like you a lesson."  
[Winston] "Hm, that's not very nice."

Winston breaks the clash by performing a jumping upward slash, knocking Rebecca down. She quickly regains her composure, then launches 3 projectiles from her hand. Winston deflects them all with his sword, then closes the gap by flash stepping behind her position.  
[Winston] "Lesson #1: How to not be a b----."  
He materializes a snow shovel and bashes Rebecca with it so hard she hits the ground.  
[Winston] "Clever little love tap, huh?"  
He checks her consciousness by turning her over. She's completely out cold, and she has a nasty bruise behind her head.  
[Winston] "You get an A for effort."  
He then checks the door behind the area where they were fighting and notices something he calls his "crown to glory."  
[Winston] "At last!"  
It was a Magic Poster. Winston and only Winston can use these to generate Image Cards, an ability passed down from his bloodline of 7 years that allows him to extract abilities and even weapons. Winston presses his hand against this poster, and after exactly 3.14 seconds, an Image Card shows up in his hands after he pulls it out.  
[Winston] "I shall put this thing to good use!"  
Rebecca wakes up from her nap.  
[Winston] "Hey missy, I found your profile shot in the backroom-- ah sh--, she's mad at me."  
Rebecca charges at Winston for messing around with her stuff, but Winston draws the Image Card from his hand. From it, he summons a shotgun patterned with flowers. He fires it once, and the resulting beam of light threw Rebecca back so far that she hit the wall and suffers yet another blackout.  
[Winston, talking to himself] "Motherf---, I don't know whether to congratulate or reprimand you for treating someone like her with disrespect. Like, the Image Card was nice, but come ON. You could destroy a BULL without the need for weapons of mass destruction like this."

  
Winston returns to the base using the portal from last time. This time, Saggitarius was waiting for him outside the forbidden door. Winston was still holding the shotgun when this happens:  
[Saggitarius] "Where did you get that?"  
[Winston] "I feel like I could explain, but that would only get me in deeper trouble than I am now."  
[Saggitarius] "I'm not even mad at you. I'm impressed that you found one of your Image Cards!"  
[Winston] ".....I survived a fight with a butterfly lynx that barely did anything to me because I was too fast. Who's my next challenge, huh?"  
[Saggitarius] "Probably someone that could match two of you in a fight and then some."


	4. Cat Fight

The Artist’s Guild. It’s stationed somewhere in the Sanctuary (wait, sorry, Zootopia) and it’s where all the most capable craftsmen and women work at. Stuff gets drawn, shown off to others, and gets feedback. Just like the Writer’s Guild, those of any rank intermediate or higher can join, though any works submitted to said guild by those of lower rank has a higher chance of making it to the top spot. Those in the Artist’s Guild are crazy strong – they possess powers beyond ANYONE in the Writer’s Guild except maybe a few people and it all depends on who’s fighting who. The leader of this guild is (who else?) The Secretary. She has no real control over the Guild, but her amazing reception with everyone she meets can get you to think otherwise. Nobody has beaten her in combat. Ever. It amazes me to think that the Guild is even around with her on their side. Suppose the two Guilds were to host some kind of power tournament? It would be unfair to everyone in the Writer’s Guild because the Artist’s Guild is just too strong and too many! However, those in the Artist’s Guild do tend to fall out of favor with the entire city, let alone the Guild. I know of someone like that. Her name is Frostbite, and she constantly fights with this other Artist’s Guild member - no wait, FORMER Artist’s Guild member named  Mistwalker . They constantly bicker and you never see them outside of the dimensions the fight in. Nobody knows why they fight, but after they sent themselves away, nobody ever saw them again. This is why I am concerned because the numbers of the Guild may increase and  eventually lead to a power imbalance. It’s not like there’s not one happening to begin with, but it will only get worse over time. That’s why the Writer's Guild needs a true place to get known. It’s been a few years since they’ve claimed the crown to glory, but when the Artist’s Guild made their names known, the Writer’s Guild  kinda fizzled out of favor with the commonwealth. If there’s something that I know for sure, though...

Winston and the Secretary do NOT get along. The moment they locked eyes with each other in the Sanctuary, they took out their swords and started dueling each other. strike after strike, not a thing could decide who would win that tussle. On the bridge, it seems, they’ve met and quarreled. The Secretary and Winston are both cats, but one’s a Maine Coon and one's a  Munchkin . Respectively. It  doesn't take long for both to start going over-the-top, because they leaped upward and landed next to some statues. They cut off the heads of each and launched them at each other, breaking on contact with the other. The Secretary wasn’t fazed and brought out a gun. Not too special, she fired it and Winston carefully evaded. He pulled out his Image Card and fired the flower shotgun. With  a ”Is that all you got?” and a quick maneuver, The Secretary evaded the attack and kept firing her own gun. To Winston’s utter surprise, he was able to convert his own gun to a handgun and keep up with her shots. It took the two past the railings of the bridge, to the  grass on the ground, to the treetops above. Their quarrel was fierce and brave, not one of them broke a sweat, and it’s comparable to two lions fighting over control of the pride. Thus, they were known as rivals. Rivals of a caliber nobody in neither  the Writer’s Guild nor the Artist’s Guild could beat. Both Guilds got the news to varying amounts of jubilation, but only one of them got it directly from the mouth of the combatant. Sure enough, Winston went back to Hollow after the beatdown, and everyone was around to see him enter the premises. Some tense emotions flared up around the building, some of anxiety, some of worry, and some of concern. If they mean the same thing, that probably means that they all felt the same way. In any case, Winston requested info on his new mission.

[Winston] ”Ah, flying enemies. Never cease to piss me off."

[Libra] "Do you have a gun yet?"

[Winston] "Sure don't."

[Saggitarius] "Scorpio!"

Scorpio tosses Winston something that should not even exist; an automatic pistol. Revolver-shaped, too.

[Winston] "Is there a name for this?"

[Scorpio] "I don't give names to guns, so that's a you thing."

[Winston] "In any case, I'll be taking to the skies the next day."


	5. Quod malum latus mundi

Winston's quest to confront his enemy goes awry when the enemy in question, a Mantible (basically a mechanical flying stingray) goes toe to toe with another enemy. This new foe was not from this world. Surprisingly the property damage done to Hollow wasn't much, given how big of an (empty) city it was. When Winston went to confront the beast in question after it killed the Mantible, it slapped him away and sent him to another world entirely.

As in, it sent him to Otherworld. A truly lawless dimension. Anything goes in this foul field, and the only real rule is that you can't destroy the place. In the center of the bridge is Max, one of the managers of Otherworld. Although he didn't create it, he is one of the more prominent members of the committee and is primarily known for his reputation. Winston went towards him and started this exchange:

[Winston] "I've seen your face somewhere before! Hmmm, were you the causes of some rather... divided pieces of art?"  
[Max] "It would be a pleasure to know your name first."  
[Winston] "It's Winston. Are you responsible for some--"  
[Max] "If I did make them it was probably a looooooooong time ago. Even then, we are in the now and not in the then."  
[Winston] "Alright, then. Maybe I should be the one to test how powerful you are."  
[Max] "Do you always pick fights like this?"  
[Winston] "I don't see anyone else with gigantic *somethings* in the background of their fort."  
[Max] "They are Overseers, and they serve to monitor the content that gets sent around here so that I can *view it*. You got a problem with that?"  
[Winston] "No, but I would still like to know how strong you are."  
[Max] "Why's that?"  
[Winston] "Should the day come when we should form an alliance, I'll know who to trust.

Max walks towards Winston and the cat's response is to jump on top of the building's roof above and behind him and take out his guns. The flower shotgun is still a handgun. Winston fires his guns, but Max chucks an entire missile at Winston, wrecking the roof.  
[Max] "Why can't you just fight me hand to hand?"  
[Winston] "I thought that would work!"  
[Max] "Well I'm about as over-the-top as you are, so..."  
Winston puts his guns back. They trade blows, and as they are parrying each other's hits, an Overseer rushes over and tries to attack Winston. Max knocks it aside with one punch and uses the recoil to kick Winston back quite a bit.  
[Winston] "You're quite strong. How did you get to be that way?"  
[Max] "When you run a place with no rules, you kinda have to have thick skin. I got my battle scars over a long period of time."  
[Winston] "Fitting, considering the way you acted in the past."  
[Max] "And now, but less so."  
Max pauses for a second.  
[Max] "Winston, why did that Overseer attack you?"  
[Winston] "No idea, but I have a feeling that something's wrong with the world around me in general.

Suddenly, a load of Image Cards - only Winston can see these - fly across the dimension, with three Overseers giving chase. Some Mantibles arrive from the portals, and a group of Lounge Lizards (literal giant reptiles) appear and attempt to hold back the Mantibles. This tilts the platform Winston and Max are on, and a concerned Ben arrives from the next room and sees the bridge tilting.

[Winston] "That huge reptile... One of those forced me in here. I went to try and shoot it, and it slapped me in a portal to here!"  
[Max] "Well it looks like your world's beasts are coming in here. What's causing this imbalance?  
Ben jumps off of the bridge and attempts to use a huge barrier to force the Mantibles back. This only results in him being sent upward and shot back into the ground by the Mantible's eye laser. They have a gigantic eye that they don't see from. They fire lasers from it.  
[Winston] "What do we do?"  
[Max] "Kill everything that moves."  
Winston brandishes his sword while Max wears his gauntlets. They slash and strike the Mantibles and the Spine Dragons (as in, dragons made of bones) and the Acorns (hyperactive squirrels). The fight continues for a while, and even Hollow is undergoing it - both the people and the beasts are being overwhelmed by Otherworld's forces. Scorpio's guns don't do anything to them. Libra nearly broke his sword trying to fight them. Saggitarius can only stand and watch, knowing that her powers are ineffective against Otherworld's infantry.

Then, out of nowhere...

[Winston] "I'll just close the portal!"  
He surrounds himself in a red aura, granting him the power of Wilde Side.   
[Max] "What are you doing?"  
[Winston] "Risky business."  
His sword turns blue, and the Lounge Lizards and Mantibles go down quite easily. He travels to the other side and destroys EVERY enemy on the other side. He meets his crew just standing there watching him go. After he's done...  
[Winston] "Another one for the bag of tricks. Call me Felix, you guys!"  
[Saggitarius] "We need to know exactly how, why, and when you got that."


	6. Hollow's Cycle - Part 1

[WInston] "Wilde Side is when you're pushed to the limit and you can destroy everything, but I don't think that's what you should be worried about."  
[Saggitarius] "Then what is it?"  
[Winston] "Gee, since when did Sanctua-- sorry, Zootopia decide to pay us a visit?"  
He points at the individuals fighting the different Errors on the buildings. Little does Winston know that they are not actually the residents he knows so well.  
[Libra] "Yeah, what *is* going on here? We got these Otherworld beasts, then the Errors trying to fight them off, then the Zootopia guys trying to fight *them* off. Is this some kind of war we're fighting or something?"  
A fox who bears a striking resemblance to a certain Wilde on the other side shows himself.  
[Jackson] "No."  
[Winston] "Then why are you guys here?"  
[Jackson] "To help you with your *other* problem."  
[Libra] "Which is?"  
[Jackson] "That witch up there in one of Hollow's most recognizable buildings. [...] Now that I mention it, this place is almost a total remake of Zootopia. Who came up with this?"  
Everyone except Winston shrugs. He knows who did it, but won't say.  
[Jackson] "Anyway, her name is Frigg, and she's a gray wolf."  
[Winston] "Oh, we're taking the Norse Mythology path with our naming scheme?"  
[Jackson] "I didn't come up with that name."  
[Libra] "So we just run up there, climb the building, meet Frigg, fight her to a standstill, and all's good?"  
[Jackson] "Yes, but there's one issue."  
[Winston] "Yes?"  
[Jackson] "There's more of them than there is of you."  
[Winston] "Including the Secretary?"  
[Jackson] "Especially the Secretary."  
[Winston] "Motherf----"

Winston, Libra, and Saggitarius enter Frigg's building. It's the one in the dead center of Hollow. Despite all the buildings around it, it's literally a straight path going up there. Upon entering, our heroes come across facsimiles of several of Zootopia's residents, including, yes, Rebecca and the Secretary.  
[Winston] "Alright, let's cut out the middleman and just get going."  
The crew dash past the clones and they give chase. They climb up the stairs, and while Saggitarius and Libra run around the Jackson and Secretary clones, Winston leaps over them, slowing down time for the time he's in the air. Once he lands, time resumes and the clones look around for a minute before giving chase to the heroes. Several flights of stairs later, a clone of Charlie (white rabbit) is fighting an Error made to look like a humanoid soldier. The heroes skip past them while the clones already chasing them focus on the Error and overwhelm it with sheer numbers.  
[Winston] "Looking good here, guys!"  
Then they reach the top floor after some more hallway running. How do you ask? The elevator.  
[Winston] "About time."  
[Frigg] "Jackson didn't give you any specifics about why you came here, did he?"  
[Winston] "Wait, how did you--"  
[Frigg] "Hollow's been my eyes and ears for a long time."  
[Winston] "How long?"  
[Frigg] "For the longer part of 7 years."  
[Winston] "But Hollow's only been active for a few months!"  
[Frigg] "Look. Time never changes. We do. Hollow bears a resemblance to a place you might be familiar with only for one reason."  
[Libra] "That being?"  
[Frigg] "In 2016, our Majesty, the Master Disc, was created by a man we only call "Lord Byron". (Not the one you're thinking of. This is a totally different Lord Byron.) He made it as a labor of love towards those who like an--"  
[Winston] "Yep, I got that part. It's in the history books. I tend to stop by the library in Zootopia to take a gander at that from time to time."  
[Frigg] "In 2018, however, Hollow was established, and it used the same blueprints as Zootopia did, only with some things switched around. But it wasn't the Master Disc that made that decision. In fact, Winston, it wasn't anyone you know. It was someone who prefers to be known as "Sherry". Over the years, however, it fell into disuse, and that's when I stepped in."  
[Winston] "And what kind of bulls-- could you POSSIBLY introduce to this world to make it "better"?"  
[Frigg] "Well for a start, I started to remove some important things in order to properly make it into my own image. That's why it's connected to that pit of lawlessness over there. The ones attacking your--"  
Winston does a flying kick at Frigg. This knocks her backward out of her chair, into the window, shattering it. She lands on the cold hard ground below and struggles to get up. As she sat there, all of the entities in the area, whether it be Error, Zootopia resident, or Otherworld beast, stares daggers at Frigg.  
[Jackson] "Do you have anything else to say."  
[Frigg] "Indeed I do."

"Don't f--- with me."

She raises her hands, and a huge bolt of lightning comes crashing down on the area, destroying most of the entities there and shorting out the clones' connection with Hollow.  
[Frigg] "I will close every foreign dimension's access to Hollow! Nothing will make me change what I did to purify this world!"  
Scorpio steps out of the base.  
[Scorpio] "Lady, you done f---ed UP the world!"  
[Frigg] "You're next if you continue to rebel."  
[Scorpio] "You better watch your-- Well look who's here to steal the show."  
Winston and co. have arrived to stand Frigg down.  
[Winston] "We'll see who's stronger: the world, or your "extra-special world-shaping abilities"."


	7. Hollow's Cycle - Part 2

Frigg prepared for battle... and then a voice came from nowhere.

"Don't be so full of yourself. Here in Hollow, you have zero power. Why you ask? Well..."  
A masked, hooded man (he didn't resemble an animal) in red-and-black garb and a double-bladed spear went by and cleaved Frigg in half. He then took her severed body and cut it into a hundred pieces. All that was left of her was her insides, spread out on the ground in a gruesome fashion. He then took his finger and drew a symbol in the middle of the mess, transporting him and Winston (and only those two) into a parallel universe. The Vertical Cathedral, a bizarre, constantly falling structure with stained glass walls all around it. The visitor, Trine, spoke with a reverberating, high-pitched voice. It gave off an alien air, as someone not of this world.  
[Trine] "Greetings. my name is Trine. I've invited you to participate in the reunion of you and your natural self."  
[Winston] "Make the motive snappy."  
[Trine] "Your mission is simple: return to the world from where I came, and--"  
[Winston] "Oh no. That is one location in history I'm not returning to. I almost did something life-changing for a pack of those cards he showed me!"

Believe it or not, in the past, Winston was involved in a mission where his soul was transplanted into three different bodies, one of a samurai, one of a marine with a large gun, and one as himself in a capsule, overseeing the other two. They were assigned to pick up highly dangerous Image Cards that depicted minors. His desires were heightened by force, but the disappointments were immeasurable. He wishes not to return to a world where such paedophilic acts were done or encouraged.  
[Trine] "Well they said to return the subject "dead or alive", so..."  
He brandishes his massive staff. Winston made sure to keep his distance because of how large Trine's weapon was. The hooded alien swung twice, and every attempt by Winston to block it resulted in his sword falling out of his hands and out of the Vertical Cathedral.  
[Winston] "Aw man, this was a rental!"  
The next few swings Winston evades. Vertical, he steps aside. Horizontal, he ducks or leans back. He leaps over Trine and pulls out his guns. He fires them at Trine, and every shot knocks the alien back a few steps.  
[Trine] "Where'd you get those?"  
[Winston] "A magician never--"  
Trine spins his staff and swings it, releasing a ring-shaped projectile. Winston runs up the wall behind him and leaps over it. He lands right next to Trine.  
[Winston] "All descents have an end, you know."  
He grabs Trine, takes off his hood (much to Winston's horror, he actually is an alien), and tosses him out of Vertical Cathedral's fragile walls into the skies of the rotating sunrise. Winston gives chase. He jumps, positions himself next to Trine, and kicks him on the window. He slides on it, taking all the damage. Winston gets close, kicks the everloving crap out of him, then punches him so hard he flies *through* the Cathedral (actually a massive tower that goes on forever) and becomes a large, gory mess on the other side. With no concept of friction anywhere in that world, Trine is forced to sail through the sky as nothing more than a ball of matter turned inside out. The last recognizable thing of him that remains is his cloak and hood, with nothing underneath it.  
[Winston] "And that's how you can tell you lost the war."

Winston came back home to witness Hollow undergo a transformation. Instead of the fragmented Zootopia-like structure he once knew, it became a refreshed, vibrant city, retaining much of the same architecture. It felt like walking through a metropolis on a calm summer day, surrounded by the air of a clean environment... with a catch.

[Saggitarius] "We've made an incredible discovery, Winston!"  
[Winston] "Oh?"  
[Saggitarius] "We found more of those blue glitchy portals!"  
The look of amazement and surprise on Winston's face could have destroyed an iron sculpture.


	8. Our Proud Friends and Family, Part 1

Winston was an 18-year old cat who lived in Sanctuary...until he was sent back to Hollow by a member of something called a "Social Club", backpedaling his age by a year despite keeping his body from the future. He wears a cream-colored hoodie (matches his fur color) with a hat that covers his ears. He throws off this hat when activating Wilde Side. He also wears a matching set of pants, but like all animals, he doesn't wear shoes. His personality can best be described as "snarky with a heart of gold". While he has a soft spot for those he's close to, he's anything but nice to his enemies. He keeps his temper under control, but when confronted with something that sets him off, he won't show it with his mouth, but he will show it with his actions. Winston's weapons are usually a pair of guns; one from his first Image Card in a while, and one from Scorpio, who forged it from a gear that he obtained from a slain Error. He also wields swords, but the last one he owned was disarmed from him by Trine. His Image Card system is a generational ability. Those from other timelines have managed to pass the ability onto Winston in a brand new way. He sticks his hand in posters and takes out their Image Cards. One Card per poster, but each card holds devastating effects. Through this, Winston uses powers that other heroes like him would hold naturally. This is because Winston has no natural powers by himself other than Wilde Side. Wilde Side is a temporary buff that grants the user nigh-invulnerability, unrivaled strength, and improved skills. There is a way for Wilde Side to be activated and used permanently, only cutting off via a switch, but that method has not been found yet.

Hollow is a world whose creator nobody knows. In it are four biomes. A vibrant city filled with passing traffic and periodic seasons, a forest that seemingly never ends (it's just really massive), a mountainous region whose altitudes are incredible, and a highway that connects to the city through a large bridge. Despite their activity, these biomes still feel somehow empty, which makes them a hotspot for Errors, creatures from all sorts of dimensions made of gears. The Errors only have one goal, which is to fulfill the desire of their creators. They willingly give themselves the gear treatment at the cost of going absolutely insane. Little wonder every other world sees them as monsters. Thankfully, Hollow has defenders and they all work full-time.

Zootopia, in the flesh. In 2016, history was made when a predator-prey duo cracked a familiar case. As such they are revered as gods years later by the Pantheon, which consists of the people that create new stories and works of art depicting other worlds similar to or exactly the same as this one. New characters are formed, new stories are told, and more hearts are warmed city-wide by the tales being told by these chosen creators. The organizations behind these creations, the Artists' and Writers' Guild, oversee these projects being made. All's fine and good in a world of pure fluff until the dark secrets are revealed, drama sparks fires in the hearts of even the most innocent ones, and trouble-makers are banished from the realm forever, doomed to wander the underground and see their desires manifest in mysterious ways - worst-case scenario, as Errors. But the underground is nothing to worry about for those who keep themselves clean...

  
But the Happy Wanderer has the ability to see both worlds and then some.


	9. The (not so) New World

Winston asked Sagittarius where the blue portals were and she led him to one just around the corner of a store, closer behind it than anything. Sagittarius then put a small, watch-like device on his arm. Winston jumped inside of the portal and got a wide view of a familiar area...

  
Zootopia, a large, vibrant area where animals of all sizes congregate and enjoy life together as one big community. While the characters everyone knows and loves are still there, some new ones have made landfall in this city a long time ago. They have organized the Pantheon under the eye of the Red Vulpes and the Grey Leporid. I'm sure you know the rest, but Winston's re-arrival to the place was quite unexpected. Regardless, nobody noticed him enter, so he pretty much had part of the whole region (Sahara Square) to himself.

That is, until a mysterious figure tried to dropkick him. Winston evaded and brandished his guns. To his surprise, the figure, a blue-and-white transparent clone of him, *also* had guns!  
[Winston] "Bringing guns to a gunfight? Huh, that's a new one."  
He didn't fire, but his clone did. He did a dodge roll before a flying kick sent the clone flying. Winston picked himself up and fired a few rounds into the doppelganger.  
[Winston] "You may look like me, but you're way too predictable to pass off *as* me. Just what are you, anyway?"  
The clone actually responds in a very bizarre accent. Low-pitched, yet reverberating with a distant echo. The words were hard to make out.  
[Clone] "You should be readily more concerned with your state of being. We're formed from your passing connections with those that live here. Everyone can see us, but only you can take us on in combat."  
[Winston] "Ah, there are more than one of you, okay. Never thought I'd have to deal with an entire army."  
[Clone] "We appear in more areas than you think. Just be ready to expect the unexpected."  
[Winston] "Noted."  
Winston then materializes a small grenade and throws it as hard as he could at the clone's body. The resulting explosion should have been heard and/or seen from a distance, but mysteriously enough, no-one was present.  
[Winston] "I don't remember Zootopia being this empty."  
Winston checked his watch and noticed a metal bit on the bottom. He flipped it open, and it revealed an option to dial somebody on the contacts list. This included everyone from Hollow. Winston decided to contact Sagittarius.  
[Winston] "Sagittarius, it's me. This location seems a bit empty for what is supposedly a vibrant community."  
[Sagittarius] "Check Savannah Central, they're having an event over there."  
[Winston] "Okay."  
He leaps over building after building, being the flashy type. Once he gets over there, he sees all the familiar ones gathered, drawing and writing and whatnot. He also sees over a dozen clones, but that's beside the point.  
[Winston] "Now this is a true team spirit..."


	10. Frowning in Yellow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh yeah, and there's more Zootopia stuff too.

Winston’s attempts to enter the event fell short when he was  warped back to Hollow by a new enemy.

[Winston] ”Can I ever catch a break? I just got here!” 

The new threat revealed itself. It was a bunch of yellow faces with frowns on them molded in a  humanoid form. Winston's first Affinity.

[Winston] “Just what I needed. The absolute scum of the earth.”

He instinctively attacked the figure, but it had the reaction speed that he had. It blocked his punches. Every punch and kick was met with a resounding attack, canceling out the move. Even Winston had no idea what he was up against. But it  wasn’t his toughest foe. Winston got an idea after a few seconds if mindless punches and kicks. He  flip kicked it up in the air, entered Wilde Side, and leaped up in the air, grabbing a sword on the way up.

[Winston] ”Thanks, Sagittarius. That delivery meant the world to this fight.”

[Sagittarius] ”Oh, did it? I  don’t even know where that blade came from. I didn’t send anything to you, period.”

Winston wondered to  himself ”Well , where did it come  from, then ? ”. He had every reason to look up and realize that he was fighting his enemy in a  rather bizarre location. All kinds of swords were stuck to the walls. Winston caught his from the left wall, and the place reoriented itself to look like a proper battle arena.

[Winston] “On the spot level design? Surely this isn’t the result of--”

[Sagittarius] ”I don't know what happened either but get to work.”

The enemy,  Twoside , brandished a blade of its own. Unlike Winston’s, its sword was more European than Japanese. Winston threw his sword at Twoside, and the figure did nothing to block it, instead letting it pierce its body.

[Winston ] ”Huh , that’s weird. It moved when I tried to punch it, but it  didn’t move when a sword went through it? Surely it must be vulnerable to my direct strikes!”

Winston went over and tried to grab the sword from the enemy’s chest.  Twoside swiped its sword at him. Knowing Winston, he would just evade the attack and  actually land a punch on the thing. Indeed, a large chunk of its body was blown apart by Winston’s punch. It was clearly in pain, too, trying to grab the part of its body that was melted away into red pixels. Winston got some ideas and continued throwing punch after punch at  Twoside , moving too quick for the beast to even notice. Eventually, Winston knew just what to do to kill it off for good. He wound up a punch and threw it  really hard , sending the beast flying through the wall. It vanished on the other side, never to return.

[Winston] “I’ve heard of weird, but this... Sagittarius, is there some kind of dimensional instability going on in here?”   
  
[Sagittarius] “Come to think of it, I heard once before that in Zootopia, several worlds made by other Writer’s Guild members are linked to this one. It’s like some kind of crossover or something. You can visit other worlds using these green streams of--”

[Winston] ”That did little to answer my question, I asked if there was--”

The entire location where Winston was suddenly glitched apart and crumbled under the weight of the Cross Passing. An interdimensional travel system where other worlds are made manifest by others in the Writer’s Guild.

[Winston] ”If this is the result of the Writer’s Guild’s combined efforts... Then we must be more powerful than we think we are.”

It was like staring into literary space. Orbs  representing new worlds (and old ones, too) showed up in different environments. The more expansive the world, the bigger the  orb . They all link to the main  orb , though. That  contains the fabled Master Disc, which is the hub o f all new works. From here, all worlds get their start. Winston’s concern only elevated when he noticed Hollow in  the mix of all the other worlds.

[Winston] “Sagittarius... That’s US!”

[Sagittarius] ”Yes indeed, but we haven’t made quite a landfall in the Cross Passing yet. All we need to do is build ourselves up and get closer to the Master Disc. Change starts with you.”

[Winston] ”Interesting. What do I need to do to elevate Hollow to a greater position?”

[Sagittarius] ”Well, slaying Errors is a good start, but we must also get the attention of the two legendary figures that govern the Pantheon.”

[Winston] ”Which are?”

[Sagittarius] “The Grey Leporid and the Red Vulpes. If we had deities, they would be it. While they  aren’t responsible for getting the *closer* worlds where they are, they  are responsible for protecting the world. Only a  handful of Guild members have met their eye. Those that have... well, I don’t know where they are, precisely, but I can assure you that they’re  in good hands .”

[Winston] ”Thanks for the lore there, but I need to head back to this ”Master Disc" place. I have a job to do there, and it’s to see the event.”

He flies back to Zootopia, and he winds up a whole district next to where the event  actually is . He jumps up from the platform and lands on a train headed for Savannah central. He  can’t really hide anymore, because the train ends its run right in front of the Central’s entrance. Winston’s horrified reaction sells it as he realizes how utterly doomed his  initial plan is. He did  luck out  though because there’s many of them and only one of him. He ran up a building upon entering the Central, and he quietly watched the events unfold from up there, completely hidden.

[Winston] “Okay, I might just be the luckiest man in the world knowing where I am now.”

He heard some chatter from below.

[Winston] ”What’s this about a ‘collaboration’? Both Guilds are gonna be in it?!”


	11. For the God Whom the Bell Tolls

Winston over-viewed the event perched up on top of a structure. He heard a loud voice proclaim the “coronation of a new deity”. Winston got one look at the deity herself.

[Winston] “Why, if it isn’t--”

His entire system shut down, and he fell off the structure completely lifeless. The worst problem is that nobody noticed this happen.

“Alright, so this person is THE SINGLE most powerful member of the Artist’s Guild. The Secretary can’t keep up with her and that says something. I didn’t catch a name, but the event was solely geared around this person. I’ll call her “The Secondary”. The reason why I just up and died like that is that I haven’t felt a hit like that for a few months. I **did** get wind that her title is this very flowery “Guardian Angel of the World”. I didn’t feel _miserable_ or anything, but I did spend a good 10 minutes in this Image Card gallery – my own, may I add – led by this mentor figure who called himself the “Happy Traveler”. He and I had this conversation.”

[Winston] “You would die too if that’s what you saw.”

He held up a picture of the new goddess.

[Traveler] “Indeed, she has made it there before the Secretary has.”

[Winston] “You mean in spite of all that power she has, the Secretary **still** isn’t of divine nature yet?!”

[Traveler] “It requires a certain length of talent and appreciation to reach that point. The last person to reach that status had to turn in the status because they left. It’s been so long that I can’t remember their name.”

[Winston] “If you forgot then it must not be important.”

[Traveler] “Now let’s talk about why I barely revived you in time enough to explore this labyrinth. You have a few Image Cards made by this individual – this “deity”, may I add – and I want you to find them.”

[Winston] “Why? You trying to kill me twice?”

[Traveler] “Why would I do that? I already spent all the time in the world getting you here! In fact, if you use these Cards right then it might revive you and make you stronger!”

[Winston] “If I touch the cards, I take an untold amount of damage.”

[Traveler] “We have a problem…”

“But what do you know, I went out there, searched the maze all over, and look at what I found, it’s a…

Legendary-ranked Image Card. The power in these has increased ever since the initiation, huh? Regardless, I’ll probably be using like three of these for my next encounter, however big it may be.”

Winston used the three and ascended back to a relatively unknown part of Zootopia between Savannah and Sahara. He got to keep the Cards, so that was a nice surprise.

“Oh yeah, another bit about this “Secondary”. She is WICKED strong. Traded Defense for Magic Attack, but boy does she hit like an out-of-control tanker truck. I can’t count all the lasers I had to dodge in that dream sequence where I had to fight her, but eventually, I had to make a run for it. As a god, she’s just too strong. I can see why the Secretary couldn’t match her in strength, be it physical or with powers. I can’t see the Happy Traveler fighting her either. I just can’t see anyone this side of Lord Byron himself comparing themselves to her.”

The Traveler then appeared in that unknown part, noticing Winston.

[Traveler] “May I ask a question?”

[Winston] “Go ahead.”

[Traveler] “Do you know anything about strange weather patterns?”

The sky was turning various shades of red and blue, with some elements of white as well.

[Winston] “Oh no.”

[Traveler] “What?”

[Winston] “The last time the sky turned that color, the Dual Overseers, Red Vulpes, and Grey Leporid, recognized someone and gave their order to watch over them.”

[Traveler] “Ain’t nothing wrong with that.”

[Winston] “Everything I wish would happen to me is happening to someone else.”

[Traveler] “Mind if we work on that inside job?”

Then, a bolt of lightning struck the ground. Appearing from it is Libra.

[Libra] “Sorry that I had to make an entrance. The regular metho--”

[Winston] “Let’s cut to the chase. Why are you here?”

[Libra] “Sagittarius told me that someone was going through another bout of self-centrism.”

[Winston] “That’s pretty bizarre. You wanna outline this for me?”

Libra took a swing at Winston, revealing a terrifying suit of armor wielding two swords named Tetrahyde. It looks toward where Savannah Central is.

“Confirmed suspect is a tree squirrel.”

[Winston] “Among all the things that got changed…”

[Traveler] “...That was left alone…?”


	12. Tetrahyde

Tetrahyde is a towering suit of armor clocking in at 7’1 and--

[Winston] “Really freaking tall and really freaking heavy. All I want to do right now is get away from it and find out how to take it down.”

\--It also has two very large swords and a plethora of abilities. It starts by warping everyone to a spacious area out in a space-like field. The first thing it does is summon three Twosides. The Happy Traveler goes and kicks one out of the field, while Libra grabs another and drives his sword into it. Meanwhile, Winston just jumps and attempts to kick Tetrahyde in its large, black helmet. The beast sees this coming and swats him out of the way. Winston is sent flying all the way to the far end of the battlefield. When he gets up, he notices a whip-like device. He analyzes it.

[Winston] “Well this has got to be the most convenient offering I’ve ever been given, from a fellow dimension traveler at that! Alright, let me see this one. It’s a bunch of blue beads – my favorite color – and they’re all lined up in a row. ….Oh, I know what these are. You got a name?  
  
Dr. Feelgood. I heard that one before.”

He takes it and it actually coils around his hand like an actual whip! Winston goes up to Tetrahyde and readies his weapon.

[Winston] “Over here, we call this one “Punch – Punch – Kick – Kick”. Get it? It’s called a “combo”!”

He swings his whip horizontally twice, then vertically twice. The last hit launches Tetrahyde up in the air. Since the other guys were done with the Twosides, they just stood and watched. Winston brought himself up as well and continued his combo up in the air. Horizontal, vertical, Horizontal, Horizontal. Then he just said “F--- it” and grabbed Tetrahyde with the whip and flung him past the barrier.

[Winston] “Let’s get over-the-top!”

Once the two were in Zootopia, Winston kicked Tetrahyde over to a building. After executing a horizontal 5-hit combo, he grabbed Tetrahyde again (this time missing some armor pieces, most prominently his leg pieces) and flung him to the east side of Savannah Central, where nobody else was. Nobody could see the action, but they could feel it happen.

Winston, deciding to get it over with, summoned a massive laser cannon – easily larger than himself by a generous margin. Dubbed "Radial", how it came to be in his grasp didn't matter, nor did the function or even the reference. What did matter was that with each riptide of sound Tetrahyde's shredded body became less and less substantial. As Winston's firearm faded he descended slowly back on solid ground.

On the bright side, no collateral damage was done to Zootopia since Tetrahyde wasn’t actually on that plane of existence.

[Winston] “Nobody saw my fight scene happen other than those who were already in the Cognitive World. The Cognitive World is where alternate realities happen, like those in the Cross Passing. Where everyone in Zootopia is, that’s the Reality. (He says this as he comes back to the Reality) That’s where present events happen. And yes, even totally fantastical stuff like godhood and the Dual Gods can happen in the Reality. It’s wacky like that.”

[Alexia] “Do tell, how do you know that?”

Winston turns around to face the new one.

[Winston] “I honestly have no idea, and – wait, wasn’t your name on this weapon?”

[Alexia] “I don’t remember giving that to you, but you probably didn’t realize the necklace that you found earlier on was of my design, either.”

[Winston] “That sure wasn’t in the text…”

[Alexia] “Not everything has to be disclosed, either.”

The rest of the group come over. Alexia can’t see them, so Winston takes a trip to the Cognitive World to talk to them.

[Traveler] “Where’s the fourth wall?”

[Winston] “In a world with two planes of existence like this, you don’t really need one.”

[Traveler] “Fair enough.”

Winston comes back to the Reality.

[Alexia] “Off to talk with friends, huh?”

[Winston] “Yep. You know as well as everyone else that all Writer’s Guild members can talk to characters that they’ve created. That means no Prewritten Divinities – like the Vulpes and Leporid.”

That’s when Winston was forcibly taken away into the Cognitive World by an unknown figure.

[Winston] “Alright, who is it?”

[Voice] “You broke your streak, young man. Our pact has expired.”

[Winston] “For the last time, Madam Impure, quit following me around! I’m a changed man, I don’t need your sultry voice anymore!”

[Impure] “You don’t have a choice.”

[Winston] “I will when I shove these beads up your--”

[Traveler] “Why don’t we solve this problem face-to-face?”

[Winston] “That’s my next goal. To beat the s--- out of this b----, that’s what it is.”

[Libra] “Mind if I join you?”

[Winston] “This is my fight. I gotta resolve this on my own. To do that, I have to take this whip and prove who the real owner is.”

[Libra] “You mean….?”  
[Winston] “Alexia didn’t forge this, the text was written on it by Impure. I unwittingly made a pact with her to be granted more stuff in exchange for… I can’t remember, but it was translucent, happened every evening, and involved the strands of the Cognitive World blending in with the Reality. That’s when these things called Affinities started showing up. I read that when they are killed, they explode into this white, clear matter that, when exposed to the air for too long, starts to become corrosive. I believe Impure is one of these Affinities, and any pact made with one turns the body into a vessel for one. You do not wanna know what they do to you.”

[Traveler, with a smug grin on his face] “I already know.”

[Winston] “Good, glad your **education** is on point.”

[Libra] “So where is Impure, anyway?”

[Winston] “Where the Rainforest District is in Zootopia. Every location gets super weird in the Cognitive World. But that’s where I know she is, so I gotta get there and do my job. I gotta break myself free from her cycle!”

Dr. Feelgood isn’t Madam Impure’s only creation. She has tons of what she calls “tools” that she repurposed into weapons. She’s capable of wielding **all of them.**


	13. Sultry, Seductive, and... Impure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is highly recommended to listen to this while reading this chapter.  
> https://youtu.be/Y6vH8g_wBEk

Winston met Impure in a secluded section of the Cognitive World. The entire place was blue, covered with monarch butterflies floating around aimlessly. It gave off a mysterious vibe, as if Winston was stepping into a dream. Indeed, Impure’s location usually puts one into a dreamlike state. However, the necklace Winston was wearing – which depicted him – gave him immunity to Impure’s status effects. The two confronted each other, and had this exchange:

  
  


[Winston] “You wanna talk about that pact, missy?”

[Impure] “Oh yes, that weapon you have there was a part of a rewards system that I enrolled you in. The more you followed my directions, the more you earned from my loadout. Eventually, you would have earned a fabled treasure of mine.

[Winston] “Called?”

[Impure] “Too late. You don’t get to know what the rest of my treasures entail after you skipped a lesson of mine.”

[Winston] “To be expected of someone named “Madam Impure”. You could have thrown these favors of yours to someone else. Surely they would have loved your presence since--”

[Impure] “Enough! Now it only comes to one condition: either I beat you to submission--”

[Winston] “Real subtle.”

[Impure] “--or something’s gotta give.”

Winston takes Dr. Feelgood and grabs Impure’s neck with it. Following this, he slams her to the ground behind him, jumped up, and flung her several feet away in the air. Impure couldn’t react before the cat gave chase and did a mid-air combo on her (horizontal, horizontal, vertical, vertical, vertical), which threw her back into the ground. She got up feeling more confused than anything.

[Impure] “You dare use my own beads against me, Winston?”

[Winston] “You don’t shove **these** up there anymore!”

He then takes out one of his guns and fires a few bullets at Impure, setting her up for a combo. However, Impure decides she’s had enough. She takes out one of her prized possessions, “Two-Sided Coin”. It’s a staff that does not look like a staff at all.

[Winston] “How long have you been using that?”

[Impure] “Long enough. I have more clients than you may think.”

[Winston] “Real, REAL subtle.”

She swings it around a few times, clashing with Winston’s whip strikes. Then the munchkin gets an idea.

[Winston] “Mind if I borrow that?”

He takes Impure’s sword, Mass Destruction, and summons it to his hand.

[Winston] “Cats are excellent thieves! That’s why I have the ability to “Steal” whatever you’ve got equipped!”

Impure is too blinded by rage to even think about what he just said, so she keeps swinging the staff at him. The sword is stronger than both of them think, however. Winston swings it ONCE and cuts a part of Impure’s staff off of the handle. While Impure does fly into a rage, this does not stop Winston from running her through with said blade. He then tosses her aside and begins his ultimate combo.

[Winston] “And this is for…”

Dr. Feelgood. He takes the whip and extends it to its maximum possible length. He then wraps Impure around with it as far as possible and then hangs her by the (non-existent?) ceiling.

Solid and Magnitude: These twin nunchucks are used to deal a 13-hit combo on Impure’s face, then wrap around her neck so that she can’t move for real.

The Man: Hammer made out of pure titanium knocks Impure around a whole bunch. He then stockpiles it in his weapon cache.

Big Daddy: Twin claws are equipped to the hands and cause maximum bloodletting. At this point, Impure’s plans are fried for real.

Mass Destruction: Finally, this sword proves to be a real match made in heaven for Winston – he manages to cut all of Impure’s limbs off one by one while dismantling Impure’s own weapon stock. Finally, he severs the head with a gargantuan cut.

[Winston] “Next time – if there ever is a next time, I’ll engage in some **harder** tactics. Take these metaphors from me, everyone – a child of pure innocence is not to be messed with on the front lines!”

His return to the world from where he came was met with open arms from his teammates. He managed to do what was thought to be utterly nigh-impossible to do and broke himself free from Impure’s grasp. He got to keep the weapons he took, too! (That includes Dr. Feelgood. He managed to salvage it before Impulse was cut to pieces.)

[Libra] “Winston, what’s all this white stuff doing on your outfit?”

Winston remembered what Affinities do when they die.

[Winston] “I gotta get this s--- cleaned off.”


	14. Our Proud Friends and Family, Part 2 + Cognitive Emergency

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This may as well be my most boundary breaking chapter yet.

After Winston returned to Hollow to get hosed down, he took a trip to the Image Garden (think the level up area in Persona 4 except instead of character levels there are Image Cards) and picked up three new cards. One of them, #638, was a Legendary-ranked card and to his surprise, it was crafted by the Secretary.

[Winston] “Okay, I remember putting all of these in a category, but I **certainly** don’t remember them being in the randomized “Pick 3” bin.”

He then took his new stock out for a spin in the training room next to the “random card lottery” room. Two of them were equipped to Winston’s Card Slots (of which he has two). Respectively these two, #770 and #176, let Winston control a room’s gravity and wield an evil-looking scythe with a fuzzy handle.

[Winston] “I shall call this one “Fluffy the Terrible”. Too cliché? Fine, I’ll name it “Rocksteady”.”

The Legendary one, however, gave him three seconds to aim a card-shaped aiming cursor at an enemy. After those three seconds, a large beam of light fires from his hand similar to The Secondary’s laser cannon, Angel’s Crest (and by extension eerily resembling the Kamehameha of Dragon Ball fame.)

[Winston] “I will definitely keep these around.”

  
  


  
  


Libra is a feline of ambiguous species that wields a key-shaped sword (they call them “Keyblades” in another world altogether) called the Tracker Blade. It’s made of gold-painted steel and for key wards, there’s a half heart. The bow is also heart-shaped, and Libra claims the whole weapon was forged from a (real) dead cat’s soul. It has held up well for three years, having been passed down from a line of previous wielders. Libra himself is quite the odd one – he has ears like a Maine Coon but his purple fur and the cheetah-like tail have made people question just **what** he is. He won’t say, of course, but his oddities do not go without say from plenty of individuals.

  
  


Everyone has a Tetrahyde. Some are weak, some are strong. Some are not-yet fully developed, some are fully grown. These entities are the embodiment of someone’s worst flaw. Whether it be one of the seven sins or something beyond the captivity of nine circles of hell, a Tetrahyde is present within everyone. Winston’s just happened to resemble a massive suit of armor because his flaw was well more than fully developed. Even though he ultimately did away with it, there’s something suggesting that remnants of it are still there…

  
  


The Dual Gods, Red Vulpes, and Grey Leporid are, put simply, Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps elevated to godhood. They were put in this position by Lord Byron some 4 years ago after the Master Disc saw increased tourist rates. They possess powers beyond **anyone’s** understanding (except Lord Byron’s of course) and as such move beyond the Pantheon in terms of rank. Classified as “Midheaven Divinities”, they have the power to influence reality and shape entire worlds just by placing them in a story written by the Writers’ Guild. Everyone who incorporates these two (or even just one of them!) in a story is using a fraction of their power to get them somewhere. While they do not mind lending a hand, they firmly object to them using their likenesses in stories where the two are treated very harshly and out of character. This has lead to the exile of two former Writers’ Guild members: Clarence, a Manx cat with psychic powers and can float like Magneto, and Faust, a black cat that is hated by much of the Writers’ Guild (and he does not like them back). The rest of the Master Disc is in good hands, however. It is thanks to these two that the two Guilds even exist, as they both started with a mission – and that was to expand the number of worlds present in the Cross Passing.

  
  


Lord Byron is the creator of the Master Disc. He is a shapeshifter who does not show up in person outside of his fox form (which as a member of both Guilds he made himself). The strongest entity in the Master Disc and the one who influences where the Disc shall go. As a result, everyone looks to him as a wayfinder, and all new projects he oversees are also broadcasted to Zootopia. While he is taking on a new task at the moment (it has a name), he won’t reveal to anyone what it is.

And when he’s undergoing an important assignment, he takes on a human form…

  
  


Alexia is the cel-shaded vulpine creator of Winston’s model (which he was more than happy to change into) and Winston’s necklace. Outside of these two items he really isn’t seen much. He can be spotted in the Artists’ Guild a few times but other than that not much is known about him.

  
  


Trine is a mysterious alien who wears a red-and-black hood to conceal his face and wields a double-sided spear. The blades on that spear are about half as long as Winston is! He exists to “reunite Winston to his past self” which refers to a mission Winston was forced to go on under Trine’s command. Sure, it was a dream-like state he was undergoing but it didn’t prevent the fact that Winston split his soul in two and had them sealed in two different bodies to obtain the Forbidden Image Cards, which depicted minors. Winston said it himself “Ain’t no way I’m going back in hell to do that again. Professionals have STANDARDS.” Trine is wholly devoted to bringing Winston back to the area – or, as it’s called, “Ravine”, being the leader of a united cult that glorifies the usage of the Cards found there. If Winston wanted to, he would annihilate every member of that cult and maybe restore Ravine to a peaceful state but he doesn’t see any incentive in doing that. That’s why he resorted to killing Trine instead.

But something out there says that Trine is not over yet…

  
  


[Winston] “Wanna learn about some freaky s---? Okay, well I was once thrown in the Cognitive World through a Dream Warp. Guess what? The walls were covered in white s---, there was a dragon there looking like he’d been f---ed to hell and back, and the Red Vulpes was there trying to fight me. It was super weird. I had a huge feeling that the Vulpes was an Affinity, so I went to war against it. It was weaker than usual, nowhere near the actual power level of the god. I managed to clip its wings off with Mass Destruction (there were six of them jokers) and finally popped his head off with Dr. Feelgood.

I was dead f---ing right. His torso sprayed so much of that corrosive material that I had to step back a few feet. I had no idea why I was jumped into that parallel universe but I sure would not like to do that again. But enough with the weird stories of the day. I just wanted to share my piece because not enough is happening out here in the Master Disc.

  
  


But the Secondary did show up out of nowhere and delivered enough (metaphorical) sugar to fill a bowl of Halloween candy.


	15. ???

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A letter to our hero, coming back to Hollow from Zootopia.

Dear Winston. 

It has come to my attention that we will be treasure hunting soon. Those Image Cards found in the wild are oh so delectable, and it is our job to make sure they are obtained and archived, as they should be. We two are the only ones who can travel to Out There and retrieve the mystical card suits. Your abilities depend on this. 

Image Cards are items of mystery and wonder. Each card contains a special power that few have harnessed. I happen to be one of the people in your bloodline that can use their powers. Each image was crafted by someone, and while we may not be able to find them here, we may see their doppelgangers and be forced to fight them! Affinities are very protective of their items and will do whatever it takes to shield them from others.

I will be waiting for you at the entrance. It's a manhole cover in front of the store you discovered Zootopia in.

Signed, Salvie


	16. Let's get this party started!

Winston dropped down past the manhole and moved to the lower level of the Out There. Everything was dark, so Winston couldn’t really see anything… until a light pointed right at the visitor, Salvie. Winston approached the new person and attempted to surprise attack her. She got up and blocked the attack, then went for the solar plexus. Winston evaded to the right, moved over and elbowed Salvie, then pushed her away.

[Salvie] “Fully expected that from you.”

[Winston] “I test everyone’s strength when I meet them!”

[Salvie] “That’s not the point of why I brought you down here. There are Image Cards everywhere!”

She wasn’t joking. Multiple playing-card-like artifacts were littered across the floor, sky, even the walls. They all glowed, appearing distinct from the purple, bizarre skies of the alien world that was the Out There.

[Winston] “Anything I need to worry about?”

[Salvie] “Well, there’s these hideous looking monsters called Twosides out here. They are yellow and carry perpetual--”

[Winston] “Perfect. Just another thing to piss me off, huh?”

[Salvie] “You wouldn’t have come if I brought it up in the letter!”

[Winston] “It would have given me twice the motivation to show up, actually. Killing Twosides has become something of a side gig of mine. They’re disgusting.”

[Salvie] “Perfect! We would make a great team!”

Then, a rhythmic sound reverberated throughout the Out There.

[Salvie] “The Invocation Beat! Get ready!”

The two pull out their guns as a crowd of Twosides approached them. They spun around each other, firing their weapons. Winston leaps over Salvie to kick one, then Salvie brandishes an Image Card to cut three of them in two at the same time. Winston takes his sword and plants it on the ground, burning another one in front of him, then he turns around and cuts two more in half. Once the carnage was done, they quickly back up next to each other, back in their original positions. That gives the Twosides room to blow up into a white substance. 

[Salvie] “Thinking about what that white s----’s made of makes me sick.”

[Winston] “Don’t worry about it too much. I bet those aren’t the only Affinities here.”

  
Salvie is… what do we call this? She has ears like a dog, twin ponytails, and… Okay yeah, she’s a dog whose fur is blue. But what breed of dog carries ponytails? Anyway, her body is 100% cybernetic, because she’s a program allowed to live in the real world. Originally from a world called Chrysalis, she was a member of a group that posed as viruses but turned out to be powerful warriors on the side of good. She is the last of these warriors. When the rest of the good programs made it to Aeon, Salvie apparently missed the memo. That’s why she is down here in the Out There.

[Winston] “What’s our next destination?”

[Salvie] “There are only two rules here. Kill all the Affinities, grab all the Image Cards, and proceed soundly. We just do it the best way possible.”

[Winston] “Fine with me.”

The two wander the strange yet interesting terrain ahead of them. They pick up the Image Cards they find lying around here and there. 

[Winston] “Didn’t you say something about fighting doppelgangers of people in Zootopia?”

[Salvie] “Oh yes, those guys are called Illusioners. Part of the Ninth House of Affinity Rankings, they are the more powerful members of their number. Apparently, the better the form they take on, the stronger they get--”

Then, a gunshot rang across the field. The heroes turned around and saw another visitor. He was a lynx with black-grey fur.

[Salvie] “Looks like that’s the first of them.”

Winston fired his gun at the mysterious enemy. He vanished and moved behind Winston, sending him flying with a kick. He caught himself at the wall and bounded back up. He then saw Salvie fighting him with a much cleaner, more polished sword than usual. Even cleaner than Mass Destruction. Salvie caught the Illusioner at the chest level, backed up, and watched as it blew up in style.

[Salvie] “#506, Marcus. Creator matches exact appearance.”

[Winston] “Great. We have a lot ahead of us.”


	17. Secret of the Hood

Then, the Out There managed to get wind that one of its units had been killed in action. It shifts into something else entirely. It transforms into a large battle arena with missing textures everywhere. There’s a large hole in the middle of the place that leads into another floor, this time with actual textures.

[Winston] “And here I am thinking this couldn’t get any weirder.”

It did. Four Twosides with riot shields and stun batons spawned in front of the two heroes. Winston readied his gun, but Salvie thought smarter.  
  
[Salvie] “Hang on.”

She tossed three bomb-like objects at the Twosides, toward the ground. They slid and blew up, launching the Twosides. An Illusioner, a Bengal, caught one of the fallen bodies and ripped it apart, covering himself in the familiar white substance.

[Winston] “At least I can see which field he specializes in.”

Salvie gives him a weird look. By that time, the substance faded from the Affinity’s body. The enemy slowly walked toward the heroes. He threw the corpse's parts away as Winston drew his gun. Before he could fire it, the Illusioner did a flying kick at him. Salvie tackles him before this could be done, catching him by surprise. In response, the enemy gets up and quickly backs away, kicking Salvie away from him while doing so. He floats up and summons a large polearm. With it, he conjures six magic circles with three waves of his hands and fires an army’s worth of spears! Winston turns toward whatever’s left of the fourth wall when it was demolished as early as Chapter 1.

[Winston] “You ever wonder why the party’s so crazy?”

Winston jumps up high. He kicks every polearm away, teleporting like mad while he does so. Before the last spear could hit the ground, Winston grabbed it and attempted to run the Illusioner through with it. With a blur of movement, the Illusioner grabs and attempts to force the spear away from him! This allows Winston to focus on the guy’s head, which displays the name of the person it’s copying.

[Winston] “Lucas? Your name is Lucas?”

With all the strength he can muster, Winston forces the spear through Lucas… and accidentally spirals them both through parallel worlds by applied momentum. Through time and space they go, “Lucas”’s body fading as they travel. Once the wormhole subsides, Winston leaves the Affinity there, embedded into the wall.

[Winston] “Winston and Salvie 1, “Lucas” 0.”

[Salvie] “You kinda destroyed that other location we were in while you were fighting.”

[Winston] “Nah, it just form-shifted again. Besides, I already have #611.”

The Illusioner’s body explodes behind them, neither hero noticing.

[Salvie] “Lucas. The Illusioner got the species wrong though, so it had to use the closest one like it.”

[Winston] “To be fair he kinda did look like a Bengal the last time I saw him.”

They were now at a building side with an overhang separated by a short wall and some pillars. In other words, a hallway balcony. (Is that a thing?)

[???] “Do you boys and girls want to do this the fair way?”

[Winston] “And what business would you possibly have--”

Winston suddenly recognizes the hood and face.

[Winston] “Trine? Who revived you?!”

[Trine] “Simple magic tricks. That’s all. I know what you did to Madam Impulse. Her agenda, made manifest through Affinities, knows no bounds be it heaven or hell--”  
Winston used an Image Card to spawn a bow (arrows included). He fires one arrow at Trine, catching him off guard.

[Winston] “I don’t have much time for exposition. You know what they say: “Let’s rock!”

He attempts to dropkick Trine, but he forgot about that three-foot-long staff he still had on him. Trine spins it around, grazing Winston in the back. Even though he did get hit, Salvie covered his tracks by assembling a Gatling gun using one of the Image Cards she got from Marcus’ booster pack. With nothing left to lose, Salvie practically empties the whole gun at Trine. Finding himself literally outgunned, Trine teleports past the firing and focuses on Winston. The cat lands, but he found himself blocking Trine’s staff after he turned around.

[Winston] “Are we gonna continue this?”


	18. My condolences, sir!

[Trine] “We can if you want to.”

Their battle did not last long, for both combatants had a surprise waiting for them, more for Winston than for Trine.

[???] “Hello, would you mind recapping the number 576 for me?”

Trine didn’t know what that meant, but Winston sure did. He didn’t even know where the voice originated, but he followed its instruction anyway. Sure enough, that was the number assigned to the weapon Winston called "Rocksteady". He brandished that scythe he knew so well from back in the Image Garden and swung it. Trine backed away, which gave the visitor a pleasant distraction. He jumped onto the balcony and cornered Trine with a familiar-looking beam saber. He spoke with a noticeable British accent.

[???] "Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Percy, and I originate from an alternate universe. One where Zootopia was emptied out by an entity named “The Reader” who turned out to be an alternate version of a friend I know named Quincy…”

Winston somehow knows that name, but he doesn’t remember how.

[Percy] “...Anyway, this sword belonged to him, but last I’ve heard, he’s dead, so now I gotta hand it to you. Literally. By the way, I’m a cat. Don’t tell ANYONE that I’m a black bear because I’m NOT.”

Winston takes the saber. Trine was prepared to cut down both of them but Percy leaped on Trine’s head and attempted to snap the alien’s neck. Trine forcefully slams his upper body on the floor to get him off. It worked, but Percy jumped back, landed on his feet, and got ready to properly fight Trine on foot. Winston and Salvie just watched the two fighters from a small distance. When Percy brought out his own sword, however, Winston swung Rocksteady once and clotheslined Trine so hard that he fell off the balcony. Percy puts away his sword.

[Percy] “I didn’t expect that.”

[Winston] “I didn’t want to drag that on, either.”

[Percy] “Great! Now I can finish introducing myself—”

[Winston] “Please tell me how the hell you know what weapons I have?”  
[Percy] “Trade secret. Anyways, I came here from the Cross Passing when I heard of the Apex Predator’s disappearance. He’s a pretty major figure where I come from. I was told that he would be found here in the Master Disc, having elevated to godhood.”

[Winston] “We’re not in the Master Disc.”

[Percy] “Then where are we?”

[Winston and Salvie] “Good question.”

[Percy] “Well, I would like to know myself where the Apex Predator is.”

[Winston] “Describe his appearance to me.”

[Percy] “Well, he’s a red fox, kinda charismatic in appearance.”

[Winston] “In the Master Disc, he’s known as the Red Vulpes. Is that who you’re referring to?”

[Percy] “He might be.”

[Winston] “Well, he’s of actual divine status here.”

[Percy] “….Would it not be of benefit to tell me the first time around?! How was I supposed to know that he’d become a literal god?”

[Winston] “He’s not the only one either.”

[Percy] “Is Judy there too?”

[Salvie, more surprised than anything] “From what I’ve heard.”

[Percy] “Then what are we waiting for?”

Percy stands there for a second.

[Percy] “Oh, I forgot! I’m the leader of a band of warriors known as the Radiant Army. We pretty much oversee the world and fight for those that seek to do good, Reality Shaper or not.”

[Winston] “What’s a Reality Shaper?”

[Percy] “Those that can influence reality itself, changing it for the better or sometimes worse. Quincy was one of those people. I heard that he lost that status when he went to the other world.”

[Winston] “Well the Master Disc has two Guilds--”

[Percy] “Yes, yes, I’ve heard of those people! That’s why I’ve been meaning to enter the Master Disc!”

[Winston] “They wouldn’t be able to see you or Salvie.”  
[Percy] “How come?”

[Winston] “I’ll show you.”

Winston draws a circle in the air with the beam saber, generating a portal called a Warp Zone to enter the Master Disc with. The three enter it.

When they emerge in Zootopia’s Savannah Central district, everyone in the group but Winston gains a purple outline. Winston switches to the Cognitive World to talk to them.

[Percy] “I can see and hear people, but I feel like I can’t communicate with them! My thoughts and words are not flowing through this filter!”

[Winston] “Only those that can enter the Reality can talk with other Guild members. Since you are someone’s creation, you can only talk to the person that made you, that being me. The Red Vulpes and Grey Leporid can bypass these limitations, however.”

[Percy] “So, where is this “Red Vulpes”?

Winston points upward.

[Percy] “Up there?”

[Winston] “There’s an entire location up there where those of the highest status reside and watch over the Master Disc. Artists’ and Writers’ Guild members who have ascended go to a different location instead. Both areas definitely look the part. Now, let’s look around.”

They walk around Savannah Central, taking in the sights around them. As soon as they are in a position where they can see the largest building in the district, a red fox wearing a red-and-black hoodie approaches them. Winston switches back to Reality.

[???] “Do I need to boot you back into Hollow again?”

[Winston] “Well, long time no see. I did some spring cleaning while I was away, you know, I got the place squeaky clean now, but you wouldn’t know since you can’t directly enter Hollow for yourself.”

[???] “I can’t have you treading back into the Writers’ Guild again until you’re of age, hear?”

[Winston] “Now, I’m pretty sure you just misunderstood the unwritten rules--”

The mysterious vulpine summoned a chain with a claw at the end of it. He grabbed Winston’s foot with it and tossed him here and there. Upon launching Winston toward the largest building overlooking the district, the cat caught himself on the window and stood there, standing on the window’s side.

[???] “You wanna get over-the-top? I can get over-the-top.”

He followed suit, switching to one of his large swords. The one he equips is a long, gray blade with an average-sized cross-guard. Winston takes out his beam sword and gets to parrying. With surprising accuracy, both swordfighters are able to keep up with the other’s slashing and back further up the tower with each clash. Winston jumped back, seeing as how his efforts were not working.

[Winston] “563.”

He summons that Image Card from Lucas’ booster pack, and kicks the air, launching a powerful shockwave. The fox stepped to the side, continuing to walk toward Winston ever so slowly.

[Winston] “195.”

Upon holding his hand out in front of him, the Image Card, this time from the Secretary’s booster pack, fires a torrent of water from a magic circle. The fox jumped forward to avoid it, but this only left him wide open for Winston’s next attack. He jumped upward with his beam sword outstretched, knocking him back enough for him to fall from the building. He survives the ground impact, but he has a noticeable scar on his chest. Winston slides down the building and jumps off of it onto the ground.

[Winston] “Gave me a good challenge, I’ll admit.”

Percy attempts to say something, but the bridge between the Cognitive World and the Reality is blocking him. Winston switches to his side.

[Winston] “What was that?”

[Percy] “I’ve seen him before. Last time I remembered, he, Quincy, this gunslinger rabbit named Emerald, and this other rabbit in armor named Gayle were fighting a dragon. They won that battle, but then things went south after that.”

[Winston] “Hmmmm….”

He switches back to Reality. The fox is getting back up, recovering from his injury.

[???] “Quite formidable, even if I wasn’t trying to actively hurt you. If I was, I would have floored you in an instant.”

[Winston] “Can you at least tell me your name?”

[???] “Joseph. Number one fan of the fox from above.”

[Winston] “Now that you mention it, wasn’t there a third Guild going around Zootopia?”

[Joseph] “Indeed. I was going to take you there to let you see the other strong ones, but I guess you already heard the talk going around.”

[Winston] “Well, yeah, it was one of the last things I heard before I was sent to Hollow by your hand!”

[Joseph] “Anyway, I’m one of the strongest members of the Social Club. Those that are neither Artists nor Writers, but still make their names known around the Master Disc. Follow me.”

As soon as Joseph turned his back, Winston takes a spare Image Card and converts it to a headset, allowing him to hear and talk to his own creations outside the Cognitive World.  
[Winston] “I’ve been dying to get one of these but this motherf--- prevented me from doing so. I don’t know why I didn’t think of pulling this off.”

[Percy] “It’s okay. Besides, some quite familiar faces will be present in the Social Club.”

Winston and co. followed Joseph to the Social Club and once they entered the place, they took a moment to take in their surroundings. A massive lounge area where several members gathered and talked to each other was the main room. Further in the back was an area where members could see different creations people made and comment on them. Governing the whole place was a team of 7 people.

[Joseph] “I want you to meet the people that have brought me to where I am now.”


	19. The Social Club and the Affinity Uprising - Part 1

[Percy] “I knew I’d find some of you here.”

They are, from left to right:

Gayle, a grey rabbit wearing red armor. Well, he would be wearing red armor, but since he’s not in a position of conflict, he chooses to wear casual clothing, giving him a striking resemblance to the Grey Leporid back in her days as a police detective. (Officer would be stretching it). His abilities are quite expansive, but he chooses to avoid causing violence. When he has to though, he will. And when he does, he is quite dangerous. He is far from the strongest guy in the unit, though…

Jacqueline, or Marian for short (she looks exactly like her namesake, too, right down to being a fox). A powerful mage who seeks refuge in the catacombs of social media. A rather “vibrant” personality (to put it mildly) masks her short temper. While her overall vibe is a bit strange, she is surprisingly amicable to those that don’t get on her nerves. When people DO get on her nerves, let’s just say that only a few have made it out of the range of her attacks and came out clean. In her free time, she likes to practice actual magic (ie. Occult practices). She has her own room where she likes to do this, and nobody but her is allowed to enter it. Literally. Only she can summon the door leading to it!

The Supplement (‘tis a mere title, you won’t get his actual name so easily), an arctic fox and one of the most powerful members of the Master Disc, period. He claims to have met Lord Byron himself – and those claims were met **very** early on when a screen in front of Savannah Central broadcast it for all to see – and as such, he has a very high status among the Social Club (and by extension, the entire Master Disc). He was christened by the Dual Gods a long time ago, and for a few years, he actually watched over the Master Disc alongside Lord Byron. Those days came to an end, but his power hasn’t gone down any.

And finally, Joseph himself. He was actually an old soul transplanted into a new body after he was locked out of his old one. With a new body comes a new set of abilities, but he didn’t obtain said abilities overnight. Indeed, the man had to go far, seeking the help of even **The Secretary** to propel him to where he is now. Although he is nowhere near as powerful or skilled as the Secretary, he still has his own merits of strength. Winston got to witness this firsthand, even if it was only a fraction of his overall power.

[Joseph] “Now that you have successfully known everyone, what do you wanna say?”

[Winston] “There’s no age gap for success, unlike what this man here once told me. He once had a warped perception of knowing how to rise up the ranks, but as it turns out, anyone can--”

[Gayle] “Anyone can be anything. That’s true both in Zootopia and the Guilds. Don’t let anyone tell you what you can or can’t be.”

[Salvie] “I’m sure those Twosides over there would like to have a word with you.”

[Winston] “The what?”

Gayle’s ear perked up, and he indeed spotted three Twosides behind the whole group. The rest of the Social Club sitting on the couch turned their backs, and got up as they watched the shambling yellow bigheads walk towards the group.

[Marian] “You think maybe they’re like zombies or somethin’?”

[Winston] “Exactly my thought.”

Winston took out the flower handgun and converted it to a shotgun. The Social Club members turned their heads back to Winston as he fired a round at one of the Twosides, blowing its head right off. The familiar white substance splashed around the Social Club members, causing them to back away in caution. It **melted part of the couch they were sitting on** , forcing them into battle. Gayle equipped the armor, which folded itself around him, and charged up the beam saber in his arm. He then punched the ground, sending the other two Twosides flying out the window where they came from. They bounced off the outer wall, then fell two stories down to the ground. All the Social Club could see from that level of the building was two white spots on the ground.

[Gayle] “Now would you mind telling me where those guys came from?”

[Winston] “They’re not my creation. In fact, they pretty much came straight from nowhere. The world where I came from – and continue to oversee – is filled with them.

[Salvie] “Not in Hollow itself, mind you, but the parallel universe underneath it!”

[Winston] “If they show up here or anywhere else again, you know who to call.”

[Joseph] “So you’re a Ghostbuster now?”  
  


[Winston] “Who said anything about hunting ghosts?”

[Percy] “Winston, the ground!”

Winston looks under him, more confused than anything.

[Percy] “No, mate, the ground ground!”

Winston looks out the window. Literal **hundreds** of Twosides and other assorted Affinities have gathered around where Gayle killed the other two. All three Guilds were scared out of their minds seeing the army approach their fallen comrades.  
  
[Winston] “...Oh f---.”


	20. The Affinity Uprising - Part 2

All three Guilds were lined up in the middle of Savannah Central. Three of the best members of each Guild stood up, ready to fight off the invaders.

[Winston] “I’m surprised that everyone except us thinks that the Twosides are enemies. Anyone else would try to make peace with these guys.”

[Joseph] “Actually, Twosides take on a variety of forms. That face is just the one you see. The faces of these aliens present themselves as whatever makes the beholder piping mad. They are infamous for causing trouble throughout the Cross Passing, but nobody knows where they come from. You may have started a war between us and them.”

[Winston] “All the more reason to kick them in their s---.”

What none of the warriors knew, however, that the “gunslinger rabbit” Percy mentioned earlier was both in the Artists’ Guild and standing on top of one of the buildings above.

[Emerald] “Wow, what did I wake up to today?”

Three Twosides materialize behind him. His left ear perks up, but he just stands there. The Twosides slowly shamble towards him. They are about to attack the seemingly unaware Emerald when he jumps up high, activates Bullet Drive, slowing down time, then fires a volley of bullets from his two guns. Emerald lands on the ground below the building, waiting to hear that satisfying sound of two Affinities exploding. After that, he kicks out in front of him, releasing a medium-sized bomb from the gun on his leg. Several Affinities are caught in the blast, causing all three Guilds to look at him.

[Emerald] “Don’t mind me, I’m just cleaning out some garbage.”

The Social Club went first against the Affinities. Winston stayed at a distance, pulling out Image Card after Image Card, fending the attackers off at range. Joseph went up close, destroying each pack of enemies with one of his five swords. Marian also stayed at a distance, using fire and lightning “magic” to erase them in a set area. There’s no concept of magic where Winston comes from – for it is called Synergy over there, but there is in Zootopia.

The Writer’s Guild went in second. Charlie’s area of effect attacks proved vital for when entire small armies closed in on our heroes. Rebecca’s single-target strong attacks were mostly suited for the big, tough Affinities walking around in the far back. The fact that she can fly certainly helps matters. Robin’s attacks are slow-charging, but are devastating when they finally release. Like so, he prefers to be around bigger clumps of Affinities to wipe them out with ease.

The Artists’ Guild have no problem with these guys. All three of the champions presented – the Secretary, Lucas and Sharpton – were easily able to pick off the biggest of enemies with ease and plow through the largest of armies of small enemies. It was like popping bubble wrap.

All three groups made sure to jump away from the Affinity Residue, too.

[Emerald] “There’s like, hundreds of these guys. Let a guy have some fun once in a while!”

Emerald then revealed the gun on his back and launched a small missile from it, clearing away a line-shaped group of enemies. He then fired three more bombs from his leg gun, obliterating three more packs of Twosides.

[Emerald] “Looks like I underestimated the size of this district, because there’s more where that came from.”

The Secretary noticed it too, and charged off to meet them head-on. The last thing Emerald saw was a gigantic explosion where she went. The Secretary came back to the main battle area completely unharmed. She went back to the Artists’ Guild’s side of the battlefield.

[Secretary] “Sorry about that. They had the bright idea to send in entire fleets of god-like Affinities. Neither of the other Guilds could take them down as easily as I could.”

The battle came to an abrupt halt when Charlie entered Wilde Side right in the middle of the last few hundred remaining Affinities.

[Charlie] “Pay attention! The white stuff that these guys are spilling is melting the entire district apart!” We need to  **completely erase them!** Like this!”

He then punches the ground, leaving an imprint on the ground shaped like a certain type of car. Every Affinity in his way was blasted back and ripped apart. Nothing was left behind after they vanished. The white rabbit exited Wilde Side. Noticeably, that super form changed his fur color to black and gave him white spots, making him look almost completely unrecognizable.

[Winston] “If you know who these guys are, how long have you been fighting them?”

[Sharpton] “It’s a tale as old as time. The Affinities are corrupt individuals from all over the Cross Passing that have a history of causing people trouble to no end. From what I’ve heard, they are thrown into some jail cell and have masks put over their heads. These hopelessly lost criminals are converted into Affinities by an individual and his crew only known as the Junk Garage. While we don’t know where the jail is, we only know where the Affinities originate.”

[Winston] “Is there anything I can do to help?”

[Joseph] “Enough people have asked that question before, and the only answer we can give is that  **everyone is trying to help.** ”

[Winston] “How large is the Cross Passing, anyway?”

[Sharpton] “Bigger than anyone in this world can gauge. It’s probably better known everywhere else as the Internet.”

  
  


Everyone took a moment to understand what that meant.

  
  


[Winston] “Ah, I get it. Current technology we have allows us to tap into the Cross Passing, is that right?”

[Sharpton] “That’s exactly right. Our awareness of the Cross Passing exceeds everyone else’s. Those that can’t see us in the Reality are only aware that the Cross Passing is just that – their Internet. Theirs is wildly different from ours, and only we can freely travel ours. They can only loosely access theirs. That’s why, when you took a look at the movie this location sits on, everything they listened to, watched, and played on was so different from our things. Affinties only reside in the Reality, slowly waiting to prey on us because we exist. That’s why we get stronger and fight these guys.”

[Winston] “I like how we haven’t even got to know each other and I already know how much knowledge each of you possess.”

[Secretary] “That’s the magic of saving the world. You gotta know everything.”

  
  
  



	21. Where the sun doesn't shine

Later that day, Winston and his crew stumbled upon Zootopia’s library. They went to find some books to take a glance at, but before Winston had a chance, someone called him over. A brown-furred civet with a knowing look had waited for Winston to come over.

[Mercury] “From time to time, I’ve noticed your presence in Zootopia, and I’ve been wondering if you’d have any interest in our books. We cover a wide range of topics here, from mystery to crime to even a little wholesome family time.”

[Winston] “Now that you say that, I’ve been meaning to come down here and read a book or two. I tried doing that earlier in the last 3-4 weeks, but I stopped at a certain point and never went back.”

[Mercury] “I can help you.”

[Winston] “Really? How?”

[Mercury] “Follow me.”

The two walked all the way to the back of the library. Percy and Salvie, still hidden from Mercury’s eyes, gave follow. Eventually they reached a mysterious structure.

[Mercury] “This is my station, the Triangle. I’ve been working both on it and in it for several years. It’s still not done yet. My one and only book project lies beyond this point, so if you’d like to take a look, you can.”

Winston tried to progress, but he was blocked by a wall. This wall appeared to Winston, but not to Mercury. He could walk through the entrance just fine, but Winston appeared to be trapped outside the Triangle.

[Winston] “Did you put a lock on this, or something?”

[Mercury] “That’s weird. Nobody’s ever went through this before.”

Then, a hole opened up in front of the wall. Winston backed up in surprise, but then his entire field of vision became surrounded by the bizarre backdrop. - a street in the middle of nowhere surrounded by trees. Only Winston – not even the Cross Passing creations – could see or enter this world.

[Winston] “Some world you got here.”

He then noticed his entire armory was gone.

[Winston] “My weapons! What’d you do to my weapons?”

Mercury was barely hearable over Winston’s headset, but he was hearable.

[Mercury] “I didn’t do any of this. I have no clue where you are right now. You just suddenly vanished from my presence!”

As if it couldn’t get stranger, a bus started approaching Winston. Out of reflex, Winston closed his eyes, opened his mouth, and punched the bus, hard as he could. An afterimage of a red-furred fox wearing that same facial expression appeared behind him at that moment. Then when Winston opened his eyes, he noticed his arms and hands turning red!

[Winston] “Well that’s new.”

Six Twosides appeared at the sound of the Invocation Beat. One of them spoke with a deep, high-pitched, reverberating voice.

[Twoside] “It’s time to dance, face to face.”

They all rushed at him, and Winston responded by punching the ground, sending them all flying. He then rushed at one of the Twosides, and when he did a punch combo, an extra set of disembodied hands resembling his new ones appeared at his side punching with him. His kicks and kick combos were unaffected. As soon as Winston backed away, his enemy’s body exploded. He did a sweeping slap attack on three more, stretching the extra hand far enough to cover the range. A jumping aerial stomp followed by a kick barrage took out another one, then for the last one, he jumped up high. He picked up the bus he punched out, dropped it on the Twoside head-first, then twisted it into the ground, burying the Twoside beneath the head of a nine-foot long bus.

[Winston] “I was asked to take the kid gloves off and I did. Now I have six dead Twosides behind me.”

Mercury overheard this victory quote.

[Mercury] “Even whatever alternate universe you’re in now has Twosides?”

[Winston] “It seems they’re after me specifically. I don’t know what that’s all about, but I need to find out – and fast.”

That was when Winston was sped off into another location. The area swirled around him, and he arrived at a dark room. In it was nothing other than Winston, the void, and a greyscale clone of him, Proto-Self. Sitting in a vintage-looking chair looking relaxed, he spoke with a somewhat raspy voice, like an old man. He looked wise like one, too.

[Proto] “Well, have I come to tell you something.”

[Winston] “And what would that be?”

[Proto] “You know the Secondary, from down in Zootopia? Well she almost died once. Went out on a stroll in the Cross Passing. She didn’t have nearly as many of the powers she has now as she did then, so when a bunch of Twosides and other assorted Affinities, like Happinesses and Honesties surrounded her, she was quite overwhelmed. The power of corruption will do that to a person. Comatose, but not dead. Both Guilds responded by recovering her body and doing everything in their power to revive her. As you may have observed all the way back in Chapter 11, she recovered big time. Anointed as a new goddess, she repaid the favor twofold.

[Winston] “How?”

[Proto] “We still don’t know, but some of the weaker Guild members got a boost in strength. I heard that you died while observing the event.”

[Winston] “That was Tetrahyde trying to take me down! When it died, I almost went with it until the Happy Traveler saved me and took me to the Image Garden!”

[Proto] “Ah, the Traveler. Me and that old coot go back years.”

[Winston] “You know him?”

[Proto] “Know him? Buddy, I AM him! I’m one of his forms from years ago! I have seen past and future events come and go from my humble abode, so I know just about everything that happens in your world and theirs as well. I’ve seen a universe reset or two. I’ve met some gentlemen and women claiming to be from the “Unwoven Group”. I’ve heard legends about this person named “Plantlife”. Someone told me that she possessed powers similar to that of the Secretary.”

[Winston] “Okay, so if I exist, and he exists, and you exist too… Why aren’t we collapsing--”

[Proto] “Multiverse theory. I was relieved when the Wanderer taught me about that. You, me, him – we’re all linked together. We’ve seen things happen, been through other events… The world is strange in a good way. Me talking to you right now, that wouldn’t be happening in a world where the multiverse theory wasn’t a thing.”

[Winston] “So why can’t I access the Triangle?”

[Proto] “You’re not very used to worlds outside your own – and Zootopia’s of course. You shape every world you come across, which is why you instinctively go into Cognitive mode everytime you merely manage to oversee the events of another Cross Passing area. I may set up an alternative measure that I once used myself in an experiment. Everything may look dated to you, but that’s the best thing someone like myself can manage. I may have gotten more powerful over the years of my life I’ve been living—”

[Winston] “How many?”

[Proto] “– Seven. But that doesn’t mean I can reconfigure a Cross Passing world you’ve made in a snap. That’s up to you. I strongly encourage you to explore worlds outside your own. Once you do that, your overall learning experience will change for the better. Trust me, I know a person like that.”

[Winston] “Who?”

Proto points at himself. He then holds up a book depicting a cat in the night sky on its front cover.

[Proto] “My view of cats has changed ever since I picked up this book. You should change your view of Zootopia by taking regular trips to the library! The books there are conduits to the Cross Passing!”

[Winston] “I’ll keep this in mind!”

Winston stepped out of the black void room to return outside the Triangle, where Mercury was. The door was no longer walled off, but Winston still felt like waiting a bit before waltzing in.

[Proto] “That boy interests me. He has so much potential left untapped...”


	22. First Rock From the Sun

Winston returned to the library, the flow of the air returning back to him as he was welcomed to the dry, somewhat cracked smell of years-old paper. He chose a book carefully, not even caring that Mercury was gone. As he took the tome, he was warped inside of it. The individual pages swirled around him as he made his way inside the wormhole. Eventually, he made it inside the Triangle, except it wasn’t as it seemed. An industrial-looking arena peppered with the rusted aroma of used machines awaited Winston as he descended inside the foundation. Mercury was there, with that same knowing look he carried when he first encountered Winston.

[Mercury] “Welcome to the Triangle. I’m very surprised that you’ve chosen to descend all the way down here so suddenly. Me and several Writers’ Guild members were all making a plan. A plan that would have you test your strength against several of us, one at a time. We would know if you’re capable of entering the Writers’ Guild if you successfully topped our whole roster.”

Winston looked like he was interested, until he popped this question.

[Winston] “Is this Triangle made of fire?”

[Mercury] “That’s classified.”

[Winston] “Fair enough.”

Winston brandished the gun he got from Scorpio. Mercury leapt into the air and aimed a quick flying kick at Winston. However, the cat reacted faster than that and flip-kicked Mercury high in the air. Surprised but unfazed, Mercury hit the ground feet-first.

[Mercury] “I know you can do better than that! Show me some power!”

[Winston] “Right on, bucko.”

Winston then sprouts a purple wing. Bursting with sudden confidence, he then summons a purple magic circle by waving his hands around. By punching the circle, he spawns a massive energy bolt. The sudden impact of the bolt was enough to completely catch Mercury off-guard. He flew backwards, banging the wall hard enough to leave a sizable dent. Winston went over to check the fallen body. Mercury’s outfit was in tatters, the energy bolt having ripped a hole in it. The man himself didn’t seem to be awake. His eyes were closed, yet he was still breathing. It’s almost like Winston knocked the life out of him, yet he was still clinging on to it. Among Mercury’s burned outfit was a nametag. It, like the rest of his body, was covered with ashes, yet something was written on it.

[Winston] “M-A-R…”

He was then thrown back seemingly at the speed of sound, the now-written pages once again swirling around him. Winston’s wing was gone, but it was too late for the cat to notice it. Once the chaos was gone and Winston was back in the library, he flew back so far that he slammed right into a bookshelf, taking down it, all the books on it, and the shelf right next to it, taking those books down as well. Winston was so badly battered that it took him a while to rise from the pile of damaged tomes. He looked like he had been in a one-on-one fight with him on the receiving end.

[Winston] “What the f--- was that? Are books literally f---ing magic now?!”

He got up and stepped over the book pile he accidentally made. Upon looking at the gargantuan mess, he stared in horror. The smell of dust went back up and filled the room, though bizarrely enough, nobody was around to check. That is, until Robin went inside the room, him and Winston staring daggers at each other both in shock. Winston put his hands in front of him paws forward as if he was being arrested.

[Winston] “Uh, I can explain.”

[Robin] “Weird s--- happens all the time, but this is unprecedented.”


	23. At Warp Speed

Not four seconds later, Robin and Winston turned around and saw a clone of Winston dressed in a black robe holding a sword with a long, thin blade. He gave off a positively evil vibe, his dark red eyes looking like he wanted to kill someone and fast. He smiled at Winston, putting a small amount of fear in our hero. Robin was unfazed, however, and tried throwing a cartoon bomb at him. The doppelganger cut the bomb in half, blowing it up, then swung again, firing a sword beam at Robin. The cougar flew back upon impact, and hit the wall way behind him. Too dazed to move, he fell into the book pile, knocked out cold. The clone looked at the real deal and pointed his sword at him. He had a deep, borderline demonic voice, though he didn’t resemble an Affinity.

[WARP Self] “You know, the timeline you’ve seen throughout your generation’s livelihood… it has taught me well. Proto-Self isn’t the only one who can see the past and present. Through this, I have deduced that you are extremely vulnerable to “abhorrent” desires.”

Winston looked at his foe with contempt.

[Winston] “Yeah, and? What do you plan on doing to me that I haven’t already set in stone?”

Winston expected Warp to pull a facial expression hinting at more villainy, but Warp’s face remained the same, creeping out Winston even more.

[Warp] “I’ll fix you myself since you seem to be so resistant to my tactics.”

Winston reached for his sword, wary of what Warp was going to do next… But to the cat’s horror, none of his weapons were there, Mass Destruction included.

[Warp] “Your belongings are with me. Do you see who is in control now?!”

Warp changed the area Winston was in, and now they were both in a child’s room. The smell of the air had a slightly-off putting mix of the somewhat fresh breeze of the outdoors, the aged aroma of used clothes, and the stale draft of dented plastic, as Winston could notice the presence of an Xbox One underneath a table, which had a TV on top of it.

[Winston] “Pretty standard boy’s room. Are you tracing my memories or something?”

[Warp] “Good eye.”

Warp advanced toward his enemy and eventually gave way to a barrage of slashes. Winston just calmly backed away from every swing, Warp trying his best to get close enough to our hero to make direct contact with him. At the edge of the bed, Winston caught Warp’s sword before impact and glanced at the sword itself. Through the same kind of spell he used earlier with Mercury, Winston analyzed the blade.

[Winston] “Mass Destruction Rev. 2. Around four and a half feet long, the cross-guard – quite small, may I add – and pommel are both made of solid iron. Grip is leather, which isn't bad for a sword. The blade is steel sharpened to a fine point. This weapon can channel fire and lightning to a solid degree. If someone like me knows the weapon this well…”

Warp stares in horror as the blade slips out of his hands and into Winston’s.

[Warp] “K-Kitty Magic…?”

[Winston] “Then that means it must belong to me!”

Winston took some swings at Warp at blinding speed while an astral backdrop appeared around them both. Winston didn’t quite know it yet, but a woodchuck, a zebra, and a hippo – all under the age of 13 – were assisting him, while the cries of a young fox echoed in the background. It put Winston off some, but it didn’t prevent him from dealing the finishing blow which cut Warp to pieces. The villain’s limbs flew here and there, vanishing in the distance of the area of space Winston carried out the attack in. Winston thought he was done, until…

[Warp] “You aren’t even half done with the Affinities, Winston. I’m just a high-ranking avatar of the ruler of them all. You can call yourself done now, but when you meet His Majesty, the face of the world itself will change – for the better. And then when everyone has the same face…”

Winston stabbed that of Warp’s with his new blade. After releasing the weapon from Warp’s face, he saw the very same mug that continues to plague Winston to this day: the face of a Twoside.

[Winston] “Well now I know who to call.”

The child’s room was gone and Winston was back at the library again. Robin just woke up from his catatonia.

[Robin] “Who?”

[Winston] “I don’t know yet but I will pick my battles.”


	24. Down a Strange Rabbit Hole

Winston tried opening up another book, this time with a label on it made by a member of the Artists’ Guild. It opened like a regular book, so Winston used “Kitty Magic” to travel inside of it. Inside of it was a Zootopia that looked noticeably different. Restaurants and diners were the focus of this specific area, so all kinds of food brought their smells over to the field Winston landed on. It was mostly meat, with some vegetables mixed in the aroma. Winston’s focus shifted when Charlie--

[Charles] “Honestly I prefer the name “Charles” at this point. “Charlie” doesn’t have the same ring to it anymore.”

[Winston] “Mercury sent me down here to train for the Writers’ Guild.”

[Charles] “The Writers’ Guild? Last I remembered, you were already in it.”

Winston recoiled when he heard that. When Joseph ejected him into Hollow, pretty much none of the authors in the Guild even recognized him at the time.

[Winston] “I think you’re on to something.”

[Charles] “All of us can just feel the potential brimming from you. All you have to do is show it and surprise us all. We didn’t get here overnight, you know.”

[Winston] “Then how did you?”

[Charles] “Like this.”

Charles jumps upward and lands on the roof of one of the buildings. Following this, he summons four rabbit-like Affinities called Vorpal Bunnies.

[Winston] “Wait, Affinities? Aren’t these the bad guys?”

[Charles] “These are not the same Affinities we fight on a day-to-day basis. Try destroying one and see what happens--”

Winston was already on it. With a quick spinning slash, the Bunnies were gone, having evaporated into water vapor. Charles landed back on the ground and floated upward, hovering in place. He then launched four bolts of ball lightning. When Winston raised his sword and blocked them all, he noticed it glowing blue. Then he remembered that the blade could channel lightning. He took a chance and stabbed it forward, releasing a large lightning stream that launched Charles backward. This changed the arena to where Charles landed, which was a familiar-looking apartment. One room, with a bed on the left, a table on the right, an alarm clock on the windowsill, etc. It looked exactly like what Winston had seen all those years ago.

[Winston] “This is her apartment…”

[Charles] “Yes, yes it is! I’m so glad you’ve figured it out! Eventually, the truth will unfold before your very eyes. There’s a reason why you’ve entered this book, seeking my attention!”

The way Charles was acting was putting Winston off.

[Winston] “You don’t usually act like this. What’s going on?”

That’s when the numbers on the clock changed to a percentage.

0%.

Winston wondered what this meant, until out of nowhere he was thrown into the wall by the impact of a laser beam fired from a magic circle hanging in the air. Winston gathered his bearings and got back up. Putting away his sword, he then took out his flower shotgun. He fired it at Charles, but the rabbit’s magic circle conjuration blocked the bullets. Realizing that guns are ineffective against him, Winston then selected a few Image Cards from his set.

[Winston] “491.”

This fired a medium-sized bolt of light that, upon impact, detonated into a large field of energy. When Charles got hit, the apartment got dark and all damage was negated. The alarm clock was still visible, however, and this time it read “10%.

Charles then snapped his fingers, revealing the entire ZPD right before Winston’s eyes! Nobody was there, but Winston had a good feeling that he has been here before. Namely, there was a small crater in the middle of the lobby.

[Winston] “The last time I checked--”

[Charles] “Focus!”

The minute Charles said “Focus!”, Winston felt his paws grab something. It was a book. The same book that he picked up from the library. He was confused as to why it was there, but he opened it up anyway. He read its contents and went up to chapter 2, and that’s when he realized something quite mysterious.

The alarm clock wasn’t telling the time, for it was daytime when the clock’s numbers changed. The percentage was calculating the speed of the world. He knew this when another digital clock on the wall read “40%”. Winston felt time advance. A light breeze passed him over as the wind picked up. It was indoors, Winston knew that. Yet, it felt like a storm could blow the whole station over at any point. Charles was unfazed, even though he wasn’t the one behind it.

[Winston, to himself] _“Why is the wind picking up so much? All I did was pick up the book and read a bit of it…”_

Charles took the opportunity to catch Winston by surprise with a speed blitz, but Winston was also quite fast. They caught each other’s blows and rushed throughout the station in a circle trying to land a hit on the other. That’s when the percentage hit a fever pitch and sped up rapidly. It went from 80% to scrolling at an incalculable rate. It was in the triple digits, going back down to the single digits and back up again. The change was incredible. The two went back outside the station… but by this time they were both fast enough to run around Precinct One – the entire precinct – in mere seconds. The two combatants were mere blurs as they ran around trading blows. Winston was trembling because he never thought he’d make it this far in a fight. Kitty Magic just made him faster, to the point where the percentage had to keep up with him as it permanently fixed itself on triple-digit inputs. Charles kept up too, and soon enough the entire city became their playground as they whirled around it in the air, trying to land even a single hit.

The fever pitch came when Zootopia folded in on itself due to its sheer speed. The percentage was capped at 999%. By now Winston and Charles were fighting in the open space that was the Astral Zone. Something merely hinted at in the real city but was a real thing in the world of the book. Located just before the Cross Passing, Winston thought it was a construct of his mind, knowing the speed increase was all in his head as well. After all, he’s heard of the Cross Passing but not of the Astral Zone. Worryingly, Charles was affected by the speed increase…

[Charles] “Well, we’re here now. What’s gonna happen next? Hm? What do you think?”

Winston was too concerned to respond, shaken up by the sudden speed increases and strange events. Without hesitation, he took his sword and did the same slash barrage he did on Warp with this very blade. Charles dashed around him, and they were back at it again. It was then that several panels, none of which they could see, appeared in the area. Several of them depicted events Winston read in the book, while another one appeared underneath the Astral Zone. It swallowed both combatants.

Winston wound up on a beach. Confused, he looked to his right. A (non-sentient) crab walked up to him and its right pincer started to vibrate. Winston went over to investigate when the crab swelled up in size, inflating like a balloon. Winston backed away, even more scared than before. That’s when the entire island began to disappear. One grain of sand after another, it felt like an illusion was breaking. The usual breeze associated with a calm day at the beach went away. The grass was graying, and the trees were dying. The ballooning crab was peeling away as it reached a certain size. The crab’s insides were falling out of a hole that peeled itself open. Scrambling to get away from this beachside nightmare, Winston had no choice but to watch as half the beach was taken up by this crustacean, slowly dying as if it were affected by some disease. Eventually, the Grey Leporid descended from the skies, freaking Winston out even more.

[Leporid] “Every book tells a story, and yours is overlapping with the one prewritten. As a precautionary measure, we’ve sealed you inside this area in the Cross Passing. It’s not the only safe spot in the world.”

Winston was backed up against the slowly advancing invisible wall on the edge of the sand, clearly avoiding contact with the abomination like a baby confronting a big dog.

[Winston] “Where is the exit?! Can I leave already?!”

Within seconds, Winston was launched out of the book into the wall in the library. The book wasn’t any larger than it was when he picked it up. Winston was clearly in a state of discomfort when he got up and dusted himself off.

[Winston] “I’m not doing that ever again. Nope. Not once in a day would I ever engage in something like that.”


	25. Cat Fight II

When Winston got outside, the entire district’s sky broke apart, revealing a vast purple array of stars. The district itself began to change. The buildings, ground, surroundings – all of it was changing. Replacing it was a dock-like area. Wooden boards to stand on with water surrounding it. Problem was, that was literally the only thing non-water walkers could stand on. Winston looked around, taking in the usual smell of salt-water around the dry, aged wood of the dock. His attention was grabbed by the Secretary, who held both Percy and Salvie bound in chains. They were both trying to break free.

[Secretary] “If you can draw both of these guys, I’ll let them go.”

[Winston] “You know good and well I can’t draw. Why do you think I’m in the Writer’s Guild?”

[Secretary] “Even Charles could see the potential brimming from you. Now, show me what you got.”

She tossed Winston a drawing tablet. Confused, Winston carefully pocketed it. Not even he knew how he was able to fit such a thing in his hoodie’s pockets. Within seconds it was like it wasn’t even there anymore, and yet Winston knew he could just pull it out.

[Winston] “I choose to add an extra book to the library I stopped by today. The one I wrote.”

The Secretary pulled out her own drawing tablet and created an Image Card in seconds by speed painting something on it. It looked like she was moving twice as fast as she normally should.

[Secretary] “1016.”

An energy beam large enough to potentially cut down the Sears Tower or some equivalent to that in Zootopia was launched from the resulting Image Card. Winston jumped upward in response. He summoned an Image Card of his own and activated it.

[Winston] “855.”

A homing missile was ejected from the card. The Secretary kicked it upward, making it flip a few times. This also disabled its homing function, so she grabbed it and flung it at Winston with great force. Winston cut it down with his sword.

[Winston] “So the power over Image Cards  **isn’t** hereditary? How is it done, then? Kitty Magic? If all the cats in Zootopia have this power, then both of us – and some others – could be some of the strongest people around. I sure hope it’s Kitty Magic.”

Salvie and Percy watched as their captor and their savior clashed in the air. The Secretary could somehow see them both in the Cognitive World. Like some kind of administrator, she could bypass the laws of the world and do things that regular people physically cannot do. Everyone looked up to her as the kind of god that falls just below the actual gods. It made sense, since she was strong enough to ascend, but hasn’t yet. The pier rocked back and forth from the vibrations in the air caused by two overpowered felines struggling to overcome the other at an airborne altitude. The fight continued to propel them upward, spiraling higher and higher, until…

[Secretary] “507.”

The gigantic axe that spawned sent Winston all the way back down to the dock when swung . The wood was also destroyed, so he plunged into the watery depths instead. From below the oceanic pit, he said:

[Winston] “899.”

An equally large sword rose up from the waters, with Winston standing on its cross-guard. He jumped off of it and pulled it up, revealing it to be about as large as Zootopia’s tallest building! How he could lift up something so large, let alone wield, is not something that felines question. They just do, because surpassing reality is in their nature. Winston and the Secretary took to the air once again and clashed with their gargantuan weaponry. This time, the vibrations of their weapons  was were enough to shake the whole area. Each clash produced ripples in the water so huge that a whirlpool eventually formed where the dock used to be. This also freed Percy and Salvie, the former of which utilized the beam saber that Winston had on him (but dropped) to Warp Zone out of there.

Meanwhile, the whirlpool was getting bigger, and the two combatants were on the verge of breaking their weapons. They both put their implements down and, at the same time, drew out an Image Card of their design. The reaction time was quite tense.

[Winston] “1999.”

[Secretary] “900.”

The one Winston drew out looked somewhat crudely drawn; it’s not actually his creation, but the Happy Traveler’s. Winston didn’t even know he had it in his possession despite its presence in the Image Garden. Regardless, stopping the Secretary’s spell-casting by shoving the card in her mouth and then spiking her to the whirlpool’s center halted the battle before it could continue. It was the first time the Secretary ever suffered a direct injury. The card, of course, detonated like a bomb. This kicked Winston back to Zootopia, which looked completely normal this time. Clear as day, with various mammals both in the Cognitive World and the Reality walking around associating and living their daily lives. Of course, Winston was confused about the whole thing, considering the Secretary was a noted member of the Artists’ Guild.

  
  


Kitty Magic is a special ability all felines possess. Those that can use it have the ability to harvest energy from Magic Po sters and extract Image Cards from them. Winston has done it multiple times over the times not mentioned in these texts, and as a result, he has amassed the Image Garden. Whereas other cats only use what they’ve made, Winston can use all kinds of Image Cards. Additionally, other powers are accessible through Kitty Magic, like your standard superpowers (speed, strength, intelligence, etc.) as well as magic circles. Magic circles can either be full-contact, as in punching or kicking them, or formulaic, which involves reciting mathematical equations. Kitty Magic was first used by the Secretary back when she took on a different form. Another world, another set of characters. She taught Libra how to use it and he owes this to his transformation into a cat (he didn’t originally look like that.)

  
  


Of course, Winston’s story with Madam Impulse’s remains isn’t over. She has special Affinities called Desire Egos that seek to bring her back by forging her likeness out of their souls. By merging themselves with each other at a certain point in the Cross Passing, they can revive Madam Impulse in an even stronger form. The Desire Egos take on monstrous forms to illustrate how dangerous the concepts they personify can be. When assigned, Winston will enter their arenas and fight them. The first of these Desire Egos, Tempest, was a flying con s truct made of stones and bricks possessing dragons for hands (four of them) . There was a face in the middle of the mass of materials. It spoke to Winston when he fought it shortly after “defeating” the Secretary. However, he had none of it and fired his guns at the face in the middle. When it tried to launch its dragon hands at him, Winston ripped them off and threw them at the face. He did this three more times until it was bleeding the usual white substance from all four points on its body. Then he summoned #899 again to cut the materials off of its body until nothing was left except a giant ball of white material. Cutting the beast in half revealed that its interior was mostly Affinity Residue… and some quite messy machine parts. All kinds of tubes were linked to each other, some cut in half by Winston’s large sword. The heart in the center got the worst of it though – it too was cut in half, and not only was it still beating, but the worm-like cells inside of it were still moving and dividing! Winston took some time away from studying Desire Ego anatomy and returned to Zootopia to find something else to do.


	26. A Heart of Poison

“Pay attention to your surroundings, old mammal! Do you think by now they still want you around? All I currently see is a walking disaster, waiting to happen!”

Meet Gene, a Dalmatian (sort of, he thinks he's a rabbit). He’s talking to a mammal named Faust, a black cat wielding a quarterstaff. It used to be a scythe, but he claims the blade broke off in a fight. These two have been arguing for a long while, going by their facial expressions. They crossed paths in the Cross Passing.

[Faust] “Ain’t my fault y’all’s stories are written the way they are.”

[Gene] “Yes, but you criticize the wrong people for the wrong reasons!”

Faust looks behind Gene and notices the Happy Wanderer peeking behind the wall, watching the drama. Faust then fires two Image Cards at him, clearly irritated by his presence.

[Wanderer] “Wow, bad blood much?”

[Gene] “This is what the entire Writers’ Guild got you on!”

Gene got close and landed two straight punches, an overhead kick, two more side kicks, and a strong straight punch to launch Faust into the wall. The black cat bounced right back up and revealed the hidden blade of his staff, converting it into a proper scythe. He then launched said projectile at Gene. The dog slapped it away and advanced at Faust. However, the feline reacted faster and spun his staff around, hitting Gene multiple times. Then his blade returned to his staff and his continued assault on Gene continues while he advances forward. Faust is about to launch Gene and potentially cripple him when the Traveler surprises him with a flying kick. Faust’s body hits the ground with a noticeable crash, and his weapon flies right out of his hands, far out of Faust’s reach. The Traveler speaks to him with notable contempt.

[Traveler] “We meet again, black cat.”

Faust is not so happy to see Traveler again, especially after the latter got wind of the former’s actions.

[Faust] “Haven’t we agreed to dare not to speak to each other?”

[Traveler] “I can’t let this continued attack on a fellow writer happen, you know.”

[Faust] “Who’s to say he’s not like one of those other Guild members who continues to not follow my vision of how things should be written?”

[Gene] “Do you see why they kicked this motherf--- out of the guild?”

[Traveler] “I don’t miss a thing… tell me your name again?”

[Gene] “It’s Gene.”

[Traveler] “Good, then. Now then, Faust. This is a sentence that I’d never thought I’d say, but I’m gonna drive you out of here quick, fast and in--”

[Faust] “You ain’t fooling nobody, Sherry.”

Traveler – or Sherry, as he’s now known, picks up Faust by his legs and throws him toward one of the walls, launching him past it, into the Cross Passing. All of these rooms have soft, carpet-like floors lined by equally soft, yet rough walls. The colors were rather muted, being mostly white with a bluish tint. The Cross Passing itself was an interconnected web of worlds and rooms. The worlds were represented by silver orbs, while the rooms looked like cubes taken from PlayStation games. Each one was linked by green streams of energy that function like the tracks on a railroad. Someone who wanders the Cross Passing as Sherry does would take a special device known as a Stream Crossing – which resembles a combination of a sky tram and a bullet train. Stream Crossings in motion cannot be seen in full by those in a Cross Passing room, only a dot representing their location relative to the track.

Multiple Stream Crossings seen in motion in the Cross Passing is truly a mesmerizing thing to see.

Faust landed on one of those cubes. He and Sherry continued clashing their weapons – Sherry has a broadsword to contrast Winston’s thin longsword – and jumping from place to place in the Cross Passing. The Stream Crossings are intangible in motion, so neither of them could stand on one for long. Their long and complicated fight would end when, in the middle of a clash, Gene carefully aimed a flying kick and impacted Faust. He fell off the world orb, hit several room cubes and world orbs along the way, then fell into the depths of the Cross Passing. There’s no ending to the Cross Passing – there’s something new whether it’s up there or down here – so wherever he ends up will be his place to stay… unless he takes a Stream Crossing.

Gene is very proficient in hand-to-hand combat. He does not carry weapons at all. He and Faust know each other very well – as does the rest of the Writers’ Guild, and they would do anything to give him his just desserts because exiling him from the Guild apparently isn’t enough.

Sherry is the one who provides Proto-Self with all of his intel. This is why he travels around the Cross Passing so much. Sherry’s been around for a long time in multiple forms. Proto-Self began as Sherry’s database of things he’s picked up along the way, but slowly became his own person with a close link to Sherry himself. The two are often thought of as the same person, but neither of them have anything to say about it.


	27. Bolero - Sins and Transgressions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Content may not be suitable for children.

Winston was in his Domain, a type of settlement a citizen of Zootopia lives in (the mammals in the Cognitive just call them “houses” or “apartments” or whatever the term for it is), sleeping. They can be described as habitats made to house the kind of animal living inside of it (like for example, the habitat for a bunny is small and comfortable, while a horse may prefer somewhere big and open. Winston’s, in particular, was a mix of the two, with a room upstairs housing a bathroom and a bedroom containing a bed and table. Downstairs was a standard living room, with a lounge area (complete with a TV that never gets used) and a kitchen to the right that Winston also barely touches. He was startled awake by the body pressure of what appeared to be a bunny with absolutely nothing on (but not showing anything, either). She looked strikingly similar to Judy, which surprised Winston even further. Thinking it’s an enemy serving the Desire Egos, Winston flipped backward and fired upon the mammal with Scorpio’s gun. Remarkably, the mammal jumped back and dodged his shots with impressive skill. Winston leaped off of the bed and chased the bunny into the downstairs room through the spiral staircase. “Who sent you?” Winston asked with an angry tone of voice. The bunny just giggled with a seductive demeanor. Winston just rolled his eyes, clearly not enjoying what’s going on. “Do you want me to fire upon where it hurts worst?!” Winston asked while pointing the gun in question. The bunny put her(?) hands up and fled out the door, where it was clear as day outside. Winston jumped over the railing he was leaning against and hid behind the door. It was then he heard an all too familiar voice. The voice of a Desire Ego. It was telling him to “get closer” and “see what’s beyond the door”.

“Hmmm, good try. I’m not that stupid to follow the voice of what could potentially be…” Winston said before peeking in front of the door and firing a few rounds into the mysterious mammal “where it hurts”, causing it to explode into dust.

“...my **enemy!** ”

“Very well, if you wish not to partake in our delicacies--” the voice said.

“The **king’s** delicacies! Have you no knowledge of the good book?” Winston corrected with a sassy tone. The “good book” he’s referring to is a relic of classic literature – centuries old, may I add - that appears all over a certain section of the library. Winston has read it through time and time again, so he knows a good deal of the whole talk about the “king’s delicacies”.

“...Your upbringing has taught you well in the art of negotiation. Allow me to introduce myself--”

“Make it quick, I have a butt to kick.” Winston interrupted. “In fact, take me to your place and allow me to do the honors.”

The voice did so, and what Winston saw in Bolero’s room – a room surrounded on all sides by fire blocked by reinforced glass – was nothing out of the ordinary. A giant maw on the ground surrounded by tentacles with a feel of leather.

“My name is Bolero, and I am one of the Desire Egos. Only you can see us, only you can fight us. Everyone has one of us, and we are yours. Fueled only to surprise you with our temptations and… desire. Allow us to fuel your unbridled--”

“You know, the more I look at you, the less seriously I take you because you look like just the sort of thing that would go in someone’s monster-fantasy porn flick. Whoever designed you must have played fast and loose with the meaning of subtlety!” Winston once again interrupted. He had absolutely zero respect for these monsters because, at this point, they were more of a nuisance than a direct threat. Their lairs can only be accessed by direct contact with the Egos themselves – whether by voice or by one of their avatars appearing in Zootopia proper – making them quite easy prey for Winston since they seem to only contact him. He doesn’t know why it’s just him or about this “desire” thing (or maybe he does but just doesn’t say it), and he doesn’t care.

“My avatars summoned in Zootopia are called “Dust Bunnies”. Spitting images of the Grey Leporid, they exist to fuel the instincts of the mind and influence their activity, whether here or there.” Bolero explained.

“So that’s why you summoned one in my bedroom! That sour smell doesn’t come from just nowhere…” Winston replied.

“Have no fear. What you have experienced all took place in your head. It will dissolve when you get older.” Bolero said with a sinister tone.

“Bull-f—king-s—t!” Winston shouted loudly while firing both of his guns at Bolero’s tentacles. A third one tried to grab him and place him in the monster’s maw, and while Winston let the Desire Ego do this, he concluded this with an instant-win condition.

“298.”

A loud explosion rocketed Winston up from the monster’s mouth, while Bolero sat there reeling in pain from the blast. Winston landed safely and watched as Bolero prepared a final attack. Fortunately, Winston was able to pull out his sword and cut all four tentacles down with one slash. He then took out a seemingly blank Image Card and tossed it up in the air. Firing his gun revealed it to be a mirror. Appearing from this mirror was a female cat with black hair, lightly-colored fur and tally marks on her face. She appeared and threw another Image Card at Bolero (#989). The sharp, painful razor wind that erupted from it just as the mirror image retreated back into the card was enough to permanently put down Bolero for good. Enough Affinity Residue to fill up a kids’ swimming pool fountained up from the mouth, forcing Winston to dodge it. When it hit the ground, it dissolved quite quickly, forming a crater on the ground that looked like a small asteroid hit it.

Meanwhile, in Zootopia…

[Gene] “I heard talks that someone from the Social Club, Index by name, had allied himself with the Twosides in an attempt to get to know them better. The last thing heard from him was “If everyone in this god-forsaken city hates this simple emote, so be it. It describes me perfectly, this little frown. A symbol of sadness and grief, that’s all the world is. PENSIVE FOR DAYS!”

[Charlie] “That doesn’t even make any sense.”

[The Secretary] “He actually told me why he made his decision. He’s looking for someone named “Winston”.”


	28. White Fur, Black Heart - Part 1

Winston decided to make a return trip to Hollow to check up on things. What he found upon Warp Zoning there absolutely surprised him.

Some parts of the buildings there were destroyed, dashed to the ground. While almost everything else looked fine other than this, the sky was noticeably darker than usual. This was to hide the presence of an Affinity Mothership hanging above the city, dropping off Affinities left and right. Salvie, Percy, and the rest of the Radiant Army were fighting off Twosides left and right. A gigantic Affinity holding a battle-ax, Harmony by name, was stomping around while Libra was trying to fight it off. There was just chaos going around left and right, and Winston couldn’t even understand what had happened. He entered Aeon, which was surprisingly intact among the terror.

[Winston] “What happened here while I was gone?”

[Scorpio] “Someone named “Index” came by and dropped off too many Affinities to count. He was talkin’ about some ‘puttin’ a frown on Winston’s face’ and all kinds of bull. We dealt with most of the Twosides while you were gone, but Libra’s having a bit of trouble.”

[Winston] “Where’s Saggitarius?”

[Scorpio] “Tryin’ to stay alive. Don’t worry about her, she’s in the back recovering in her Domain’s bed.”

[Winston] “We have living spaces back here?”

[Scorpio] “Do you wanna help Libra and be a hero?”

[Winston] “On it.”

Winston exited Aeon and jumped on every building he could think of while approaching the Harmony. While Winston didn’t care that the Affinity smelled absolutely  **vicious** , He was more concerned about Libra, who was laying there quite badly beaten up. Winston took the Tracker Blade and also pulled out Mass Destruction Rev 2. With both, he prepared to block the Harmony’s next slash. The Affinity took a great swipe vertically, and with the might and bravery of a Greek hero, Winston positioned both of his swords in front of him, blocking the blow with effort. Libra woke up from his comatose state just in time to see Winston perform his daring feat of strength. He was amazed.

[Libra] “What are you, some kind of over the top hero or something?”

[Winston] “Yeah… I don’t take these kinds of jobs lightly…”

With the kind of strength only a titan could possess, Winston  **flipped on his back, kicked the battle-ax upward** , and then laid an Image Card on the ground behind him.

[Winston] “2499!” (twenty-four ninety-nine)

He said this as he raised his arms high, causing an even larger black-furred she-wolf to emerge from the now-giant Image Card on the ground. A benevolent creature so large that an orchestral choir, almost cherubic in nature, could almost be heard in the background, even no such thing was even present here in Hollow. She caught the ax, and Winston proceeded to do a spinning motion with his hands outstretched so that one is in front of the other. The summon, Bellatrix by name, copied this action, cutting the Harmony in half. The metal screeching through the Harmony’s armor into its body could be heard from all of Hollow. It was a sight to see, for sure. While Image Card summons are immune to Affinity Residue, Winston isn’t, so he had to move behind Bellatrix to avoid it. More Harmonies then spawned behind Libra, Winston, and Bellatrix. Winston tossed Libra his sword back, and he made Bellatrix throw the dead Harmony’s ax. It rips through the other Harmonies like butter.

[Winston] “Why would Affinities be weak to their own weapons?”

[Libra] “Don’t ask, just exploit the loophole!”

  
  
  
  


Meanwhile, in Zootopia…

Index. A gray wolf wearing power armor. For no specific reason, the Affinities have bonded themselves with him like a parent with their child. Gene’s words had a layer of truth to them because Index had practically gone insane from an obsession with his favorite symbol. He calls it the “Icon of the World” because all he sees from that one symbol is nothing but despair. This is how he sees the world. One encounter in the library went like this:

[Gene] “You know Index, while I’m sorry you feel the way you do, this is not all there is to life.”

[Index] “It happens all the time. I’ve long committed to using this to represent me…”

He then took out an Invocation Mask and held it out in front of him.

[Index] “...and now I believe that it’s your turn.” he said with a creepy smile.

[Gene] “Now wait just a second. I don’t wanna join your cult or anything--”

[Index] “You  **must** ! This is the world’s condition. There is  **nothing left to feel anymore.** ” He said this with a sinister tone that creeped out Gene a little.

[Gene] “I’d rather die than put that thing on. At least there’s a way out of your condition--”

[Index] “Screw it! I’ve tried every single day, but the more I try, the worse it gets! So what better to do than to commit and follow the beat?!”

He snaps his fingers rhythmically, puts the mask on, and lets the Twosides around him do the job of keeping the Invocation Beat up while the Affinities – including Index – bob their heads to the beat of the snapping. This terrifies Gene, and he moves further and further away from the group of Affinities. He tries throwing a book at them, to no avail. Trembling, he backs himself into a corner and watches as the Twosides put their faces up against his in an attempt to convert him to their ranks.

[Index] “Feed upon the stress of the weight of the world’s problems, and become a new man!”

Gene cracks his knuckles and activates Wilde Side. When he does this, a symbol that looks like a crown of leaves with a sword in the middle with a crown on top appears on Gene’s forehead.

[Gene] “You wanna get f—ked?! Because THIS is how you get f—ked!”

He lands flaming punches on all the Twosides, who back up to avoid the Dalmatian’s attacks. Index attempts to put an Invocation Mask on Gene to surprise him, but Gene counters this with a jumping uppercut. This knocks Index out cold.

[Gene] “In the world of fighting games, this is called a “Dragon Punch”! I like to call it a “Shoryuken”!”

He dodges the Twosides’ attacks, and counters with three horizontal kicks, followed by a flaming side kick that launches the three Affinities in front of him, bursting into flames.

Gene then took the time to flee the library and enter the Writers’ Guild’s station a block or two away. When he entered the room, he was tired, still in Wilde Side, and currently panicking because Index was still at large. Everyone noticed him enter the premises.

[Charlie] “Dude! What’s wrong?”

[Gene] “Index, he… he… he just…”

[Mercury] “Slow down. Index did what?”

[Gene] “ **He attacked me and he’s gonna kill us all if we don’t do anything about it!”**

Everyone just froze in terror. If what Gene just said was true – and it was, chillingly enough, then they have a life-or-death situation in their hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Radiant Army consists of these members:  
> Cody: a red-furred fox who wields a European broadsword. His armor may remind you of Robin Hood.  
> Raymond, a Boston Terrier who wears blue and wields a wooden quarterstaff that can extend using chain links embedded in the middle of the staff.  
> Devon, a pocket mouse wearing a black tunic, wields a Chinese ring polearm.  
> Mark, an otter who wears an orange bandanna, mainly fights with his hands and feet.


	29. White Fur, Black Heart - Part 2

Gene and the rest of the Writers’ Guild were stationed in the Authors’ Domain, which is a library-like facility where authors of all kinds can write their stories and submit them, discuss ideas with each other, and in general just have the time of their life. Computers and writing stations were just about everywhere in the writing rooms, and there was an entire room next to that where those that are willing enter a session where writing as fast as possible was encouraged. Except with Index around, it was no longer fun and games. It was a life-or-death situation where every decision matters.

The gray wolf in question was just about to exit the library, surrounded by the “blood” of his allies when three Artists’ Guild members showed up outside it to attempt to take him on. They were Marcus, Lucas – both of whom are mammals Winston fought before in the Out There as doppelgangers – and another mammal entirely, Dalton by name. A European Shorthair like Scorpio is, they wield a mechanical scythe initialed “IBKT”.

[Marcus] “I would watch your step if I were you.”

[Lucas] “We’re some of the strongest people alive.”

[Index] “And I wouldn’t care if you were The Supplement. It would only be a matter of time before you as well as everyone in Zootopia joined my Affinity army as one of us.

[Dalton] “And the only thing standing between you and that is--”

Index slaps Lucas away and attempts to chase him down, but Marcus dives toward the gray wolf and puts him in a chokehold.

[Marcus] “Move, and I’ll hit you harder than you did to him.”

Marcus was not lying, for the second Index broke free, Marcus kicked him in the air and did a kick combo on him before launching him back to the ground with a punch. Index got up from the attack with some noticeable scars on his fur.

[Index] “That motherf--- don’t lie, now do he?” he said to himself.

[Marcus] “My method of destroying my opponents is through blocking or dodging their attempts to attack and retaliating twofold! It never fails!” he said to Index, bracing himself for another attack.

This time though, Index materialized a metal staff from seemingly nowhere and batted Marcus away with it.

[Dalton] “Where did you get that?!” they said with a surprised tone of voice.

[Index] “Don’t matter. If I can kill fools with it, it’s a keeper! My ability to summon weapons--”

Dalton interrupted him by charging towards Index and swiping at him with their scythe. Index’s attempts at blocking were proving more and more futile with every swipe, as the weight of Dalton’s weapon was too much for his fragile metal bar to handle. The iron was wearing out fast, so when Dalton broke his metal bar, Index punched Dalton so hard that they flew toward the Creation Station (an artists’ studio) and crashed right into a shelf that was thankfully empty. It tipped over and landed right on their body. Keep in mind, the Creation Station was all the way across from the library, on the other side of Savannah Central.

[Index] “Now, what else is special?”

[The Secretary] “Not that I approve of your actions, but you handled those guys quite nicely. That’s putting it mildly considering that you’re using the power of a symbol to determine your power level.”

[Index] “Look, I’ve tried using the Invocation Beat on you. It just wouldn’t work. You’re much too strong to be influenced by it, and every Mask I put on you just burns up when it touches your face!”

[Secretary] “Not everyone in the Social Club is an Angel like I am.”

[Index] “A what?”

The Secretary grabbed Index with telekinesis, threw him back, then aimed a kick combo at him on the ground, followed by a strong kick, sending him airborne. Jumping out of the lag at the end of her attacks, the Secretary then did another kick combo in the air followed by a divekick to keep Index airborne. One more kick combo later and Index was back on the ground after a stomp attack.

[Secretary] “Angels are high-ranking content creators that are lower than the Gods themselves but are higher than most of the other Guild members. You can say they are between regular Guild members and Godhood.”

[Index] “I sure hope worship doesn’t come with that bundle because I have only one true faith!”

He attempts to put a Mask on the Secretary, and it once again burns up. Enraged, he snapped his fingers twice to signal the Invocation Beat, but the Secretary grabs his hand and breaks his fingers.

[Secretary] “We’re not playing that game today, Index!”

[Index] “Then pick one.”

Index then activates a special mode that he calls--

[Index] “Pensive Soul!”

After doing this, he shoulder tackles the Secretary so hard that she flies into the largest building in Savannah Central. The Supplement is watching from atop said building, clearly concerned by the carnage going on in that district. He teleports below it and meets face to face with the man behind the nightmare.

[Supplement] “Index, I’ve come to bargain.”

[Index] “You got the wrong Sorcerer Supreme.”

The two get into an arm wrestle. Supplement twists Index’s arm quite effortlessly and throws him up into the air one-handed to prep up for a combo.

[Supplement] “I would have broken your arm if you hadn’t played nice.”

He teleports, takes out a rapier, does a blazing-fast sword combo on him, then launches him to the rooftops of another building. The Supplement follows suit by teleporting to where Index lands.

[Supplement] “No matter how many times that so-called “Pensive Soul” stacks up, handling the might of an Angel would be too much for a lowly Social Club member like you to bear.

[Index] “Old mammal, I’m far from lowly.”

[The Secondary] “Two Angels, chief.”

Index turns around to meet the strongest Artists’ Guild member.

[Index] “Now, now, girls need to assume their place. I wouldn’t mind Papa Joe behind me to manhandle the man himself, so move aside so that you won’t get hurt--” he said, an unamused Supplement listening behind him.

Secondary interrupts him by aiming an eye laser at Index’s eye, temporarily blinding him. She was much more than ticked off at his comments, so she decided to make it last. She lands a kick on him, launching him. Then, she teleports behind him at a higher altitude, launching him higher. She does this about four more times before slamming him back down with an energy blast from the palm of her hand.

[The Secondary] “The only reason why I think the other Guild members had a hard time against this guy was that they used their weapons and not their powers.”

Index got up, seemingly unfazed by her attacks. He then revealed another hidden ability of his.

[Index] “Sharp Reload!”

[Supplement] “Brace yourself…”

The Index was now twice as powerful as long as this effect was on him. He began to advance toward the Supplement, who didn’t even move when he did. Index tried to punch him in the face, but Supplement blocked it. A body blow from Index was parried with an elbow check, and when Index tried to make another move, the Supplement staggered him by gesturing upward with his hands, causing the ground below to rip apart around Index. Already being pressured by two Angels, Index had no choice but to throw his decisions to his army. He snapped the fingers on his right hand to issue the Invocation Beat, and that’s when six Twosides and a Harmony appeared. The smaller ones on the building, the bigger ones on the ground. A true disaster, this was...


	30. Index and Glossary

Winston and his allies were getting done with the last of the Affinities in Hollow. When the sky cleared up after the Mothership fled the world after the destruction of the last Twoside, Winston took the blue portal to check up on Zootopia. A voice rang inside his head that  sounded identical to his. It talked to him in-between the road to Zootopia.

**“** Attention, little one. You’ve gone far too long comparing yourself to those outside your Guild. It’s about time that I stepped in and corrected you about your issues. You will see me when you least expect it, and your punishment will be cold and brutal. I will not tolerate someone who only thinks of himself all the time. Do not contact anyone outside your Guild without being willing to accept the talent of others. You are you. Only seek to improve your own merits.”

Winston got more and more confused upon hearing that voice, wondering what he meant by his words. Yet and still, Winston could feel the words impacting his heart and soul, because somehow, he knew…

It was all true.

Winston finally made it to the mammal metropolis, only to see way too many collapsed bodies to count. Winston’s worried expression followed him towards the direction of said bodies. There was blood all over the district, and the direction of its smell pointed Winston to the Writers’ Guild facility. In there was nobody but Index putting Charlie in a chokehold. Winston brandished his gun reflexively. His anger only had him grip the gun tighter than usual, causing the leather on the grip to squeeze and make sounds.

[Winston] “I don’t know what’s worse, you invading my world with Affinities, or me coming back and seeing a Writers’ Guild member nearly dying!”

[Index] “‘Your world’? Buddy, the Mothership that I sent there ain’t gone. In fact, I had it stall its flight so that when you left, it would come back.”

[Winston] “Then... what happened?”

[Index] “Split down the middle. Pensive Soul showed me everything that happened. I swear, the resulting--”

Winston, too frustrated to think, instinctively activated Wilde Side. This time, the Red Vulpes appeared before him, causing his super form to be even stronger.

[Index] “Huh?”

Winston charged at him, breaking through two walls. He discarded his weapons entirely and grew his claws out, growing them to gargantuan proportions. He then did two vertical swipes at Index, followed by a kick combo and another claw combo. He finished by taking out Mass Destruction, which had been upgraded to Mass Destruction Axel Second, and making a stabbing motion with it. The resulting horizontal explosion rocked the room where timed writing sessions happened. It cratered the back of the Writers’ Guild. Index, after getting up, looked behind him at the hole in the wall, then back at Winston, who at this point had grown a set of two white wings.

[Index] “Who the hell am I fighting? I’ve heard of Wilde Side before, but he doesn’t seem to have a limit right now… Perhaps… he’s found a way to activate permanent Wilde Side?” he said to himself, slightly terrified.

Winston raised the sword high, preparing to launch a sword beam at Index. The gray wolf activates Sharp Reload again, propelling his power level up to around Winston’s. He then put the cat in a chokehold similar to what he did to Charlie.

[Index] “Kid, I gotta confess something. My symbol ain’t what it implies.”

Charlie woke up, looked around – worried about the collateral damage done to his station – and  took a trip to the back of the Guild.

[Index] “My symbol – Pensive Soul – is a misnomer! It is a symbol of despair, and I seek to use it to corrupt the minds of those affected! They will have no choice but to end themselves, and there will then be nobody to run the world except me.”

[Winston] “And then what will you do?”

[Index] “Fill the Cross Passing with my symbol and influence. It will then be no more. I will reconstruct it in my image, and give my Affinities all the space in the world to perform their actions!”

[Charlie] “Do try, for there’s more people like Lord Byron out there than there is of you.”

Index threw Winston backwards. Winston attempted to approach Index, but before he got there, Index kicked Charlie all the way to the station he writes on, used a chain to draw him back, kicked him upward, jumped, then converted his chain to a blade and cut him in half with it. It’s then that Winston put his wings to good use and grabbed Index, flying upward. His ascent broke the ceiling and carried the two above Zootopia. The farther and farther they went up, the more Winston got concerned.

[Winston] “Where’s everyone else?”

[Index] “Currently dealing with my army below. You probably didn’t notice because you were too busy analyzing the dead ones – but some of my higher-ranked Affinities were keeping the Supplement and the Secondary busy. Besides, up here, I can finally complete the last stage of Sharp Reload!”

Winston flinched when he heard this, but he refused to let go of Index until they made it to the Astral Zone, which Winston thought was a mere concoction of Charlie’s book. Index broke free of Winston’s grasp, and finally activated the last Sharp Reload. Winston grabbed the ledge of the Astral Zone and walked up to the arena. There was suddenly a hole in the center of the arena, and as Winston wondered why a gigantic Affinity resembling a Twoside rose up from the center of said arena. It was wearing armor, like a warlord, and there were spikes on its head for some inexplicable reason. It placed its hands on the ground, intending to speak to Winston. It possessed a voice deep enough to make the arena vibrate with its voice.

**“** You have…  **one more chance… to finally end your run of subpar creations! The Social Club is where you came… The Social Club is where you were booted from! You should have ended your dealings with this world here… Hollow would have been destroyed with you in it, and we would have one less problem to deal with!”**

[Winston] “Final Pensive? Your name was kinda obvious to catch considering that this is the  **last** Sharp Reload…”

Final Pensive then leaned in and tilted its head rapidly as a dog would. Winston then cracked his knuckles.

[Winston] “Looks like a punchable face to me.”

He did indeed punch it in the face multiple times. Punch by punch, Final Pensive’s face started chipping away, causing it to recoil back at the fiftieth hit.

“ **Some idealist you are… You WILL exit this city and become lost in the Cross Passing!”**

[Winston] “Cool story bro. I’ve heard worse from people and mammals younger than me.”

Final Pensive swiped across the Astral Zone, attempting to knock Winston off of it. Winston pushed upon the hand and, forgetting he was still in Wilde Side, was able to move the hand against Final Pensive’s own volition! He took this chance and ripped it off, causing the area where said arm was to start leaking large amounts of Affinity Residue. Final Pensive clutched that area in pain before swiping his other arm across the arena.

[Winston] “Do you ever learn?”

Winston, again, grabbed the arm, ripped it off, and tossed it aside.

[Winston] “Any other options, Mister “Despair”?”

Final Pensive opened up the area in its midsection, revealing a cavity that also doubles as a laser cannon. When the cannon was about to fire, the Grey Leporid appeared in front of Winston, shielding him. She caught the ensuing blast and threw it back at the cannon, destroying it.

[Leporid] “Now, little one!”

Winston took out an Image Card (#3856) and laid it behind him. He said the number of it out loud before raising his arms, waving them out in front of him in a circle motion, then pointing upward. Another wolf similar in size to Bellatrix appeared from the now-gigantic Image Card. Arcturus, the red-furred she-wolf – the second of them he has summoned, emerged from the card, reared back as Winston did, and struck Final Pensive in the face, blowing its head off. Leporid teleported to the head’s direction, catching it before it could go anywhere, and took it elsewhere.

Winston then took out his sword and saw it glow purple. He felt the influence of Proto-Self in that sword and yet, he did not know where it came from. He rotated his sword vertically in a full circle, then rushed toward the midsection. Nine clones of him appeared around him. Each one struck the midsection with their swords three times each. The scars from their blows caused the body to leak Affinity Residue. Then, for the final hit, Winston carved a big gash in its body in unison with the clones. They disappeared, finalizing the move known as the Nine-Lives Dance. The defeated Affinity falls out of the hole, causing Arcturus to catch the leaking midsection.

[Winston] “Not bad, huh?”

Arcturus crushes the body in-between her paw, putting his reign of terror to an end.

Then, two microphones fell from above the Astral Zone, through the hole. Winston saw it for a split second, but a red fox and a purple mink dove after said microphones. It was a strange but amusing sight, and when Winston looked through the hole in the middle of the Astral Zone, they were still going after their items.

  
  


“Distracted? I may have put that there to test your attention span. It certainly needs work.”

By the time Arcturus disappears and the Image Card vanished, a familiar cream-colored cat wearing a hoodie and a hat covering his ears appeared on the opposite side of the Zone.

“Why hello, little one. I was the one who spoke to you when you were entering Zootopia to deal with Index. I’m you. I’m a version of you who spends his off days improving himself in everything he does.”

[Winston] “I hate improvement. I don’t strive to get better. I’d rather compare myself to others and beat myself up over it. I’m the entire reason the Despair Engine, Index, came around and nearly killed everyone – and actually killed a guy.”

[The other Winston] “You hate improvement. You don’t strive to get better. You’d rather compare yourself to others and beat yourself up over it. You’re the entire reason the Despair Engine, Index, came around and nearly killed everyone – and actually killed a guy.”

[Winston] “Stop making me talk!”

[Winston #2] “No, I’m not making you do anything. You’re slowly admitting the truth about yourself. That’s why I’m stationed here to put an end to it. To put an end to your issues.”

[Winston] “If you think you’re so high and mighty, then put your strength to the test!”

Winston tried to pull out Mass Destruction, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. The other Winston shot a laser at him and snapped him “awake”.

[Winston #2] “Come on, little one! Prove to me that you can handle the challenges of tomorrow!”

The first Winston still couldn’t bring himself to do it.

[Winston #2] “Yes, this is the one who thought he saved the world. This is the one who aspired to be at the top of his class. This is the one who called himself Winston, yet proved himself to be naught but an empty shell trying to be Winston. This is a slacker! Can’t even pull out his sword when confronted with the truth, look at him!”

Indeed, the first Winston saw his strength depart him with each movement. Eventually, at a point where he was almost devoid of movement, the second Winston used a system called Overture Balance to pick one of fifteen weapons. He picked a sword with a thick blade with holes in the middle, sheathed it, and fired a spell consisting of two cuboctahedrons flying at their target at the first Winston. This launched him backward. The second Winston then comboed it with a sword slash, which sent him flying out of the Astral Zone entirely. He then dove after the cat, sword outstretched. Keeping him airborne with an air combo, the second feline concluded his attack rush with a strike of lightning. This broke apart the first Winston’s molecular makeup, dissolving him from the world.

[Winston #2] “Proto-Self gave me quite the makeover. I’m still the Happy Traveler you once knew, you know. That old mammal is quite powerful despite not appearing to be. I’ll be off to meet some challenges that I’ve yet to complete. By the way, your equipment is mine now.”

  
  
  
  


**He wasn’t the real hero, that Winston.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter titles are hard sometimes.
> 
> This is not the end of the story, for there are three more bosses to write about. Stay tuned!


	31. Motion Blur

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Think of this as a post-credits scene.

When all was said and done, Winston - the one that survived the events of the Astral Zone, that is - arrived at the Social Club. Nobody was there, so he called out a certain name.

[Winston] "Can I have the attention of someone named "Sage"? I have a score to settle."

It took a while, but someone eventually did show up. He was wearing a grey hood, carrying an air of mystery, so his face was not easily seen. This hood had fox ears on it, which raised Winston's suspicion. He breathed rather heavily, which further drew his concern. What really raised the red flags, however, was the first thing he said to him.

"Where's Index?"

[Winston] "What do you mean, "Where's Index"? He's dead. If you're looking for him, he's not of this world, or any other world, to be specific."

"His symbol meant so much to us… You killed him, didn't you?"

[Winston] "Yeah, I killed him. Killed every last inch of him. I doubt he would be around to tell the tale since, you know,  **he's dead.** "

The hooded man then takes Winston's arm and drags him to another world entirely. He then took off his hood in spectacular fashion, spun around, and bowed. His mannerisms completely contradicted his introduction. He's also not an animal at all!

[Sage] "I'm the creator of the Invocation Beat! The real Social Club stands before you!"

Indeed, this place was quite otherworldly. Winston looked around and saw all sorts of faces matching the Twosides that Winston - the other one - once fought. It was then that Winston realized that this was indeed a section of the Out There.

[Sage] "Who sent you here?"

[Winston] "Come hell or high water I would not tell this to the enemy."

[Sage] "Good, you passed my test."

He took out a gargantuan hammer with the face in question on both of its sides. He then spun it around as if he were some superhero and tried to bash Winston with it. He dodged the massive head of the weapon and, like a blur, dashed into Sage's body and then backed up. Mass Destruction Axel Second - the other Winston's sword - was embedded into him!

[Sage] "Where did you get this sword?"

[Winston] "Not telling!" he said with a smug look on his face.

Winston's eye turns pink for a few seconds, then he clutches it, screaming and twitching in a mix of terror and pain. From this, he puts his paws out in front of him and summons a large, pink circle. Sage gets caught in it. As soon as the bubble disappeared, the only thing left was his large, metal longsword. 

[Winston] "I really gotta keep my composure!"

  
  
  
  


This Winston is perhaps better known as Sherry. He was converted out of his lagomorph form by Proto-Self upon requesting, in his own words, "a makeover". The new well-received look he then took with him to Zootopia, but not before getting word from his superior that his other version had some flaws. He sought to go out and destroy Winston himself before anything else could go wrong. He now aims to improve upon his dead predecessor's mistakes and flaws and ultimately replace him. Taking on his likeness allows him to blend in with the crowd, meaning he doesn't have to feel like a stranger in a familiar land. He knows the Writers' Guild the same way his old self did and thanks to this form, so do they.

  
  
  
  


Meanwhile, in Zootopia, a red-furred wolf stands atop a building, face framed in shadow. Her eyes glow red and she jumps down from said building. After making a safe landing, she draws her gun and fires it, revealing her face.

[The Supplement] "Good to see you here, Dalton." he said while watching her enter the Administrator's Building directly north of Savannah Central.

[Dalton] "So, what's the news?"

[Supplement] "Well, a powerful gang leader kicked the can a few minutes ago."

[Dalton] "Oh?"

[Supplement] "Now the entirety of what's known as the 'Pensive Corps' is going after the one who did it. They seek to revive both their founder and his successor."


	32. Depth of Field

As soon as Winston tried to reenter Zootopia after finishing off Sage, he found himself locked out. He was completely unable to step one foot inside the city, even through Warp Zones.

[Winston] “What happened? Did Sage do this? Is he keeping me out of the place I call home?”

That’s when three blue-and-white clones emerged behind him. One of them was a savannah cat shorter than even Winston, one of them was a suit of armor with a tail poking behind it, and one of them was a suit of slim armor holding a pink laser sword. The cat called the other ones back, and they vanished. The cat then made a gesture, removing the blue-and-white filter. This was no doppelgänger.

[Winston] “I thought you were a clone like everyone else was!”

[???] “And I’m fully content with starting you back from scratch.”

[Winston] “What do you mean?”

[???] “You know how you’re still Intermediate? You’re still one digit below the threshold!”

[Winston] “And what does that have to do with anything?”

[???] “All three of us were sent here to test you to see if you were eligible to rise up a rank.”

[Winston] “Okay then. What’s the catch?”

[Shader Complex] “I’m The Secretary, but stronger.”

She manifested a chain, grabbed Winston with it, and sent him flying. She then put her paws on the ground in a kneeling position. A magic circle appeared on the ground, and ten bolts of energy appeared from it. Winston put his hand out in front of him, but the energy field that was supposed to block the energy bolts didn’t come out. The full force of the energy missiles struck him enough to set him up for the massive spear protruding from the ceiling. Pierced by a three-foot wedge of metal, Winston fell to the ground, unable to move.

[Shader Complex] “You were entirely too vulnerable when you were in the air. What happened? Why couldn’t you defend yourself? If you could catch up to me a few weeks ago, why can’t you do it now? Wait - I think I know the answer. You lost your powers as a direct result of being booted from the Writers’ Guild. I’m certain they caught on to your flaws and wanted you out before you could cause any more problems. Now you merely have the power and skill of someone who was lightly trained in his profession.”

The robot from earlier chimes in.

[???] “If you want help, all you have to do is ask for it. Otherwise, you will stay right where you are or even lose a rank entirely.”

That was when the Out There - or that section of it, to be more specific - began to collapse.

[Shader Complex] “You butthurt little thing!”

[Winston] “That’s not me doing that!”

The spear vanished and Winston got up and headed for a safe direction. The other two Legendary-class Guild members followed suit. They jumped on the collapsing platforms, attempting to avoid getting swallowed up by the dust storm, which leads to certain death. Notably, Winston was slower than both Shader - who was one of the fastest Guild members around thanks to her massive wings - and the robot, who of course had a way to boost her speed. Luckily, Winston was allowed to keep his old self’s weapons. He took Dr. Feelgood and used it to swing across the tumbling realm like a certain superhero. Both of the Guild members were surprised to see this display of creativity. The dust storm was almost completely behind him at this point, and when he landed alongside the other Guild members, they were about ready to fight him again. Then a voice rang out behind Winston, around the dust cloud.

[???] “Now now, let’s not get too hasty. It is up to the predator to eat the prey, not the other way around.”

[Winston] “I know that voice!”

[the robot] “Who is it? Is it you? It sounds a lot like you.” 

[Winston] “It’s not me, I swear it’s not me.”

[???] “The truth isn’t that hard to admit. Now, just look in the mirror and tell me what you see.”

Everyone looked behind him and saw… another Winston. This time, he was wearing a black cape with spiked bracelets all over his arms and legs. His hoodie was replaced with a suit that looked rather classy and regal. Additionally, this Winston’s eyes were white to contract the main one’s black.

[Winston] “Nice Halloween costume. Wait, if you look like me, then--”

[Winston?] “I am you. The one you killed. Since old habits tend to die hard, I decided to make a return trip and humiliate you from top to bottom.”

The other two guild members flinched when they heard this from him.

[Winston?] “It’s not a euphemism!”  
[Winston] “I don’t know man, it sounds like one to m--”

The other Winston then punched the real deal so hard he fell into the depths of the Out There. The other two Guild Members attempted to hold him back to prevent any more harm from being done but he pushes them aside quite effortlessly. This surprises them both since they are both two of the strongest Guild members out there. 

[Winston?] “I get stronger the less okay my other self feels. The Out There is my playground, so I can freely control it.”

Everyone that used to live in Hollow has migrated to the Out There to stay with Proto-Self. Since his name is hard to take seriously on a business card, he gave himself the name Wilbur and prefers to be called such.

  
[Wilbur] “Him still being alive means that the Out There - my homeworld - is still in danger. Who knows how likely it is that he’ll just make it collapse entirely and kill us all? I have to do something about this.”

He’s about to get up when Libra chimes in.

[Libra] “Tell me more about this guy.”

[Wilbur] “Well, everything around him - the things he lets into the Out There - are manifestations of his cognition. Perfectly good-natured Guild members who enter the Out There become his enemies and start to attack anyone related to him - that includes me. He’s super strong because he thinks about himself all the time, and the Guild members he allows into his premises are much weaker than he is because he either never thinks about them or sees them as intrusions in his own rise to power. I don’t even know how to counter it. If he can think it, he will think of a way to annihilate you.”

A screaming sound can be heard in the background and as the Hollow refugees look behind them, they are surprised to see Wins-- Sherry, rather, fall through the ceiling. He gets up and sees everyone gathered around him wondering what happened to him.

[Sherry] “There’s some immature asshole posing as me in the Writer’s Guild!”

[Wilbur] “Believe me, I know.”

[Sherry] “I got locked out of the Writers’ Guild - and by extension all of Zootopia - thanks to him!”

[Saggitarius] “He can see everything. He already got the news well ahead of you. He’s worried sick about how to stop it and return things back to normal.”

[Sherry] “I lost my powers around the time I was locked out.”

[Libra] "Looks like a team effort, guys!"


	33. Finale: 總有改進的餘地

The Out There. A parallel dimension that signifies the Cognitive World. The place where one ruler presides over everything. From the robot, dubbed Proto-Secondary, fighting the corrupt mindset on equal grounds, to the destruction of neighboring landmasses around their battleground. It had an alien air to it, like the atmosphere of an unexplored cave. The stalactites hanging above the platforms inject some form of beauty in this otherwise basic realm where Wilbur set up his tent all those years ago. It used to be beautiful, as the unfogged walls revealed galaxy-like mists and the ambient waves of water that defy gravity in the most relaxing way possible. Even Wilbur wishes he could dissolve the misty blockades and uncover the alluring background that once was. Even then, he couldn't ignore the sounds of lasers and swords clashing with metal, so he and the rest of the crew step outside Wilbur's room. Shader Complex was out cold, and Proto-Secondary was flying around the room like a fast insect attempting to dodge Winston's sword. She had a blade of her own but it was too short to counter Winston's huge weapon, so she resorted to parrying with hers. However, she knew her sword wouldn't last long against his, so she took to the skies to dodge his blade. She was absurdly fast in the air. Her speed could be used to ram Winston into a wall, but she was in no position to do that considering her enemy's reaction speed is off the charts. Wilbur tried catching him off-guard by summoning a magic circle and jumping into it, speeding into Winston and sending him flying like a cannon. Libra didn't even know he could do this, and his amazement could show on his face. Winston and Wilbur pierced through the mist like a sonic boom, finally revealing the atmospheric exterior of the Out There. From there, they continued their tussle while Proto-Secondary watched from the distance. They parried each others' blows and then jumped back. The magic circles they conjured allowed them to weaponize energy blades against each other. They shook the Out There with each clash, the galaxies in the background slightly moving and changing as the fight progresses. The tussle seemingly ended when Proto-Secondary grabbed Winston and launched herself upward. She continued moving diagonally upward until a certain point. The field behind them resembled the Astral Zone a bit, as thousands of stars were positioned on several points. The robot opted to keep Winston here until the matter was settled in Zootopia and the impostor was thus at his weakest state.

  
  
  
  


Where two Guilds were stationed, are where storytellers and visual designers continue their stories. Four districts, four places to communicate among one another. Those who are unable to return have set up their lives elsewhere and yet Sherry, being as innocent as he is, was left without the home he loved so much. He was given a second chance, and that he desires to earn. He doesn't know when the barrier will drop, but he does know that he will have to eliminate a certain enemy to continue walking the way he chooses.

Banter is exchanged here and topics from all sorts of ranges are brought up. The atmospheric turns of air dominated by a pure, blue sky. Gates preventing the districts from colliding at every border. Fans in the snow to heat up the desert, the conversion of water to freeze the snow. The perfect balance once ruined by the tides of racism. That was four years ago, but the stigma still holds up today for reasons that must not be brought up. The harmony that everyone lives under is rarely broken by evildoers, but they always get sent back to the Cross Passing. The foundation of every building that sits upon the city has been well-maintained for the years that this city has been around. Nobody knows that for sure, however.

This world is one of the biggest in the Cross Passing. We hope it stays that way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> S: Legendary  
> A: Greater  
> B: Intermediate  
> C: Lesser
> 
> Winston: B+   
> Sherry: B+  
> Wilbur: B+  
> Libra: B  
> Sagittarius: B-  
> Scorpio: B-  
> Trine: Unknown
> 
> WRITERS GUILD:  
> Charles: A-  
> Mercury: A-  
> Rebecca: B+  
> Robin: B+  
> Faust: C+  
> Gene: B-
> 
> ARTISTS GUILD:  
> Secondary: S  
> The Secretary/Shader Complex: A+  
> Sharpton: A-  
> Lucas: A  
> Marcus: A
> 
> SOCIAL CLUB  
> Joseph: A+  
> Gayle: A  
> Jacqueline: B+
> 
> ADMINISTRATORS UNION:  
> The Supplement: S  
> Grey Leporid/Red Vulpes: A+/S respectively  
> Lord Byron: Unknown


End file.
